I really don't know a ton of background about the Vietnam War. I mean, sure, I know the basics, but I am interested in a deeper understanding of it. This semester I am taking a course called 'The Vietnam War,' so hopefully I will find out more and be able to post some interesting blogs.
I have been researching reasons why certain people were for the war in Vietnam, and also why people protested against it. What are reasons that you know of?
ReplyDeleteThe Berkeley and Stanford communities were probably the main centers of the anti-war movement, so, as a Stanford student, I got a front-row seat here. Support for the war was tied to belief in democracy and the perceived necessity of stopping communist expansion. The vast majority of both Democrats and Republicans believed this until around 1968.
ReplyDeleteThe protesters were an interesting bunch. Some were sincere in their protests and generally honorable people, particularly the always-antiwar Quakers. Others protesters were simply cowards. The "me" generation wasn't willing to pay the price for democracy earlier generations had. But the vast majority of those involved in the protests were just out to have a good time. Spring is beautiful in California. You don't want to go to class. An anti-war protest is a good excuse to get outside, and maybe even have the fun of throwing a rock through a plate-glass window. The media laps such things up: if it bleeds, it leads. Hey! I might get on national television! The whole world is watching, the whole world is watching....
NEVER FORGET THE WAR IN VIETNAM
ReplyDeletehttp://www.namvetsonline.com
It was a very complicated time period in the country. The hippie movement was taking off, with the "Make Love - Not War" theme. Those from the Greatest Generation - who had lived through World War Two - saw the Vietnam War as a "small war" and kind of yawned it off -the average American was busy with living and just didn't care about what was going on in Vietnam. A large number of people were against the draft in particular and war in general because they simply didn't want to serve in the military.
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