I was never really taught about the Vietnam War in the past. Most of my knowledge was gathered from watching commical movies such as "A Full Metal Jacket," or more serious movies like the "Platoon." I have also heard other things about how it was basically a slaughter, and have learned about the "Wall of Honor" that was created with each soldier's name on it that gave his or her life in the war. I am a firm believer in the past is the past. That is why I chose this picture, because all we can do now is remember those great Americans that gave their all and sometimes paid with their life to eliminate the spread of communism. When I look back I believe it is none of our business how other people want to run their country, and we should not, by force, make them conform to the way we run our country here in America. At first we were just trying to help, but everybody knows once you get in, shit gets deep, and it is hard to pull out.
I personally hate war and believe it is unecessary. I way I was brougt up was to be a lover not a fighter. In this theory it is believed that everything can be solved by coming to a solution that will bennefit all. As good as this sounds we all know that people are stubborn as hell and irrational. You can not have a constructive argument when the opposing side is not willing to except that he/she is wrong and is willing to search for a position that can be defended by both sides. You can't argue with someone who will not accept fallibility. Therefore we believe it leaves us no choice but to "lock and load" and blow there stupid idea out of their heads and replace it with 7.62 mm's of sense.
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/vietnam/index.html This is a website that I used to get more information on the war and how it came about. I'm kind of more interested in why the war started than all the battles that took the life of millions of people.
2 comments:
I agree that war is innevitable and I have been to the vietnam memorial and it is a very moving sight so I agree when we you say that the past is the past. I'm not sure when you say that war is unnecessary because there are always unusual circumstances that require you to stand up and fight, but I agree some wars are unnecessary and perhaps vietnam was too. I, like you, didn't study this era a lot and was obvioulsy not able to take a military history class like Channing! Lucky...
This was an insightful post, Dillon, and Zach's thoughtful commentary rounds out a good discussion of the points you bring up here...
I don't really agree with the "the past is the past" sentiment, though, as history is ongoing (we're living into it right now) and the understanding of it is crucial to understanding the human mind, the human spirit (dare we say, the human condition) and the world in which we live, a world that has been shaped for us by our past.
You may not be using it this way, but I most often hear that saying voiced by people who want to deny the value of the past for understanding who we are (through who we have been). The implication of the phrase is that history has no meaning, is a dead topic with little to teach us about the present moment and the world of the future. I deny this implication emphatically!
I posted a longer philosophical rumination on a similar topic in response to Leah's Week Six post :)
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