Worth a Thousand Words
There's a lot of press this week, and I'm sure it will increase in the next couple of days, about the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The end of that tragic conflict is one of the earliest things I remember reading, seeing, or hearing about that had national bearing. We didn't have a television when I was growing up, but we did get the newspapers, and I did see TV at friends' and relatives' homes. My mother also borrowed a TV for a short time when I was sick, and we ended up having it for something like six months before we returned it (the man who lended it was a good friend, or a friend of a good friend, and if I remember right, he had a large console set already-- the late 60s/early 70s huge floor models with wood paneling and all that... The set we borrowed was a small black and white portable). I recall seeing TV game shows (Wink Martindale, anyone?), portions of the Watergate hearings, and the evening news with the now-famous helicopters landing on the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon.
It wasn't til I was older that I realized the importance of what I had seen, and learned more about the war. In high school and college, the courses I took were focused on providing overviews or in-depth exploration of American history, European history, and "Western Civilization". Very few courses were available on 20th century topics, Asia, Africa, or South America. I took one African History class in college, under Kinner, and it was an overview of sorts. I took Asian History under Smits, one of the toughest professors I had at Gallaudet. I never had the opportunity to take Latin American History at all until I started my Ph.D., and then finally I was able to explore the fascinating history of the nations and regions to the south of us.
But while I was taking a long break from my undergraduate studies and working full-time, I took evening courses. Some of them were to stay on top of my requirements for my BA degree, while others were for pleasure. I went to a local community college, and this is where I took a course on the Vietnam War. It was really fascinating from a historical perspective to learn about how Vietnam was part of French Indochina, then fought against the French colonial authorities after WWII, finally winning at Dienbienphu in 1954, only to have the U.S. step in and carry on the fight. As part of the class, we watched "Vietnam: A Television History". While this set of videos (now out on DVD, and apparently edited since!) originally came out in 1983 and thus is a bit too close to the actual war years for full historical objectivity and also doesn't cover everything (can you really do that?), it did help to educate me. It also hit home for me just how visual this war was. It was televised, photographed, and documented so extensively compared with earlier wars. Seeing the carnage in Hue, the carpet bombings, the pictures and tapes of GIs made what happened that much more real. It's something the Pentagon wasn't crazy about, and that they have since done a very good job of minimizing and concealing. It's one thing to talk about war in the abstract, but when you see what's really going on, when you hear in an actual eyewitness's words what is happening around them, when you read accounts, stories, articles, and books about events, then it becomes that much more tangible and understandable, and helps you to form a more accurate opinion.
When I taught 20th Century American History, one of my students was very pro-Vietnam War, pro-Army. He was an intelligent, hard-working student, and he brought a different perspective into my classes which I welcomed. I don't personally care for jingoistic chickenhawk right-wingers (or right-wingers, period), but this guy was far from that. He had his own personal opinions, of course, but he was thoughtful and truly tried to understand what had happened long before he was born.When I asked my students if they would have served, he stated that he would have done so, that he felt it was important to support his country. When we viewed footage from different sources of the Vietnam War, I was curious if anyone's opinion had changed. When I got to this young man, I asked him if, in the light of what he had recently learned, if he would still have willingly gone to Vietnam. He looked down for a minute, his face furrowed. Then he looked up at me and quietly said, "No, probably not." What was interesting was that it took images of war to change his opinion. This was especially significant considering I taught this class at about the same time that the rush to war in Iraq was taking place, so it was a timely lesson. Do we really belong in another country? If so, why? These are important questions, and questions that should be asked, debated, and answered before any action takes place. Unfortunately, in both Vietnam and Iraq, they weren't asked in time, or debated to the extent they should have been.
How we perceive war is as important as the reasons for war itself. The Pentagon knows this, which is why it has tamped down on any adverse reporting, photographs, video images, etc. from wars in the last couple of decades, including the current war. I think this is totally irresponsible; these are people's lives, homes, livelihoods, and environments that are being affected, whether here or there. People deserve to know what is happening, whether it's happening to them, because of them, or is just happening, period. Freedom of information and the ability to educate oneself is supposedly a tenet of being an American, a fundamental principle in democracy. By practicing censorship, it harms everyone.
This is why I was glad to see that a FOIA request led to the Pentagon finally releasing images of coffins being returned from Iraq. Some pictures had been previously released online, thanks to The Memory Hole, but this time the Pentagon (unwillingly!) released photos, rather than having such documentation leaked. Considering what has come out so far (Abu Ghraib, and continuing dribbling of unsettling information from Guantanamo), the military should know by now that you can't conceal information forever. It's a lesson our government seems determined never to learn, to everyone's detriment. I'm glad we are finally getting a chance to see these pictures. For one thing, it honors the sacrifice these people made in our names. I think they died for the wrong reasons, and should never have been over in Iraq in the first place, but the point is, they died in our names. The least we can do is honor their lives by remembering them. Second, it may help turn the tide of public opinion. I often think of my students, and wonder what they are thinking and how they are feeling about the events that have unfolded since I taught them. I know these pictures of coffins have to affect them; they are right at the perfect age to be entering the military, or to be drafted. Some of those soldiers making the final trip home may even be friends, acquaintances, or relatives. I sincerely hope I never have to see any of my former students' names in the papers, saying they've been killed thousands of miles from home. I hope people see these photos, and more, and realize that war really and truly should be reserved as the ultimate final decision, an action of last resort. As it is, I fear too many people see war as just another arrow in the quiver, and that we are captive to the decisions of megalomaniacs, whether they are dictators in the Middle East or dictatorial leaders here at home.
Even though these pictures are sad ones, like all good pictures, they are worth a thousand words. I'm just sorry they had to come at such a high price.
It wasn't til I was older that I realized the importance of what I had seen, and learned more about the war. In high school and college, the courses I took were focused on providing overviews or in-depth exploration of American history, European history, and "Western Civilization". Very few courses were available on 20th century topics, Asia, Africa, or South America. I took one African History class in college, under Kinner, and it was an overview of sorts. I took Asian History under Smits, one of the toughest professors I had at Gallaudet. I never had the opportunity to take Latin American History at all until I started my Ph.D., and then finally I was able to explore the fascinating history of the nations and regions to the south of us.
But while I was taking a long break from my undergraduate studies and working full-time, I took evening courses. Some of them were to stay on top of my requirements for my BA degree, while others were for pleasure. I went to a local community college, and this is where I took a course on the Vietnam War. It was really fascinating from a historical perspective to learn about how Vietnam was part of French Indochina, then fought against the French colonial authorities after WWII, finally winning at Dienbienphu in 1954, only to have the U.S. step in and carry on the fight. As part of the class, we watched "Vietnam: A Television History". While this set of videos (now out on DVD, and apparently edited since!) originally came out in 1983 and thus is a bit too close to the actual war years for full historical objectivity and also doesn't cover everything (can you really do that?), it did help to educate me. It also hit home for me just how visual this war was. It was televised, photographed, and documented so extensively compared with earlier wars. Seeing the carnage in Hue, the carpet bombings, the pictures and tapes of GIs made what happened that much more real. It's something the Pentagon wasn't crazy about, and that they have since done a very good job of minimizing and concealing. It's one thing to talk about war in the abstract, but when you see what's really going on, when you hear in an actual eyewitness's words what is happening around them, when you read accounts, stories, articles, and books about events, then it becomes that much more tangible and understandable, and helps you to form a more accurate opinion.
When I taught 20th Century American History, one of my students was very pro-Vietnam War, pro-Army. He was an intelligent, hard-working student, and he brought a different perspective into my classes which I welcomed. I don't personally care for jingoistic chickenhawk right-wingers (or right-wingers, period), but this guy was far from that. He had his own personal opinions, of course, but he was thoughtful and truly tried to understand what had happened long before he was born.When I asked my students if they would have served, he stated that he would have done so, that he felt it was important to support his country. When we viewed footage from different sources of the Vietnam War, I was curious if anyone's opinion had changed. When I got to this young man, I asked him if, in the light of what he had recently learned, if he would still have willingly gone to Vietnam. He looked down for a minute, his face furrowed. Then he looked up at me and quietly said, "No, probably not." What was interesting was that it took images of war to change his opinion. This was especially significant considering I taught this class at about the same time that the rush to war in Iraq was taking place, so it was a timely lesson. Do we really belong in another country? If so, why? These are important questions, and questions that should be asked, debated, and answered before any action takes place. Unfortunately, in both Vietnam and Iraq, they weren't asked in time, or debated to the extent they should have been.
How we perceive war is as important as the reasons for war itself. The Pentagon knows this, which is why it has tamped down on any adverse reporting, photographs, video images, etc. from wars in the last couple of decades, including the current war. I think this is totally irresponsible; these are people's lives, homes, livelihoods, and environments that are being affected, whether here or there. People deserve to know what is happening, whether it's happening to them, because of them, or is just happening, period. Freedom of information and the ability to educate oneself is supposedly a tenet of being an American, a fundamental principle in democracy. By practicing censorship, it harms everyone.
This is why I was glad to see that a FOIA request led to the Pentagon finally releasing images of coffins being returned from Iraq. Some pictures had been previously released online, thanks to The Memory Hole, but this time the Pentagon (unwillingly!) released photos, rather than having such documentation leaked. Considering what has come out so far (Abu Ghraib, and continuing dribbling of unsettling information from Guantanamo), the military should know by now that you can't conceal information forever. It's a lesson our government seems determined never to learn, to everyone's detriment. I'm glad we are finally getting a chance to see these pictures. For one thing, it honors the sacrifice these people made in our names. I think they died for the wrong reasons, and should never have been over in Iraq in the first place, but the point is, they died in our names. The least we can do is honor their lives by remembering them. Second, it may help turn the tide of public opinion. I often think of my students, and wonder what they are thinking and how they are feeling about the events that have unfolded since I taught them. I know these pictures of coffins have to affect them; they are right at the perfect age to be entering the military, or to be drafted. Some of those soldiers making the final trip home may even be friends, acquaintances, or relatives. I sincerely hope I never have to see any of my former students' names in the papers, saying they've been killed thousands of miles from home. I hope people see these photos, and more, and realize that war really and truly should be reserved as the ultimate final decision, an action of last resort. As it is, I fear too many people see war as just another arrow in the quiver, and that we are captive to the decisions of megalomaniacs, whether they are dictators in the Middle East or dictatorial leaders here at home.
Even though these pictures are sad ones, like all good pictures, they are worth a thousand words. I'm just sorry they had to come at such a high price.
posted by Mr. Sandman | 9:22 PM
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