Forget and move on.
#17
Posted 15 September 2006 - 09:32 PM
Quote
#18
Posted 16 September 2006 - 12:43 AM
I think the Vietnam War is a bit different for Canadians. The Vietnam War is the first war the United States lost (politically, not so much militarily) if Americans forget about the war then they will think they are invincible and then there will be a lot of parents in the United States mourning over dead sons and daughters.
#19
Posted 16 September 2006 - 07:07 AM
That's an absolutely ludicrous comparison.
Seriously, I don't know what was up with your school, but the 2nd US history course I took in high school spent about 3 weeks going over "the 60's," Vietnam and then Watergate.
I don't know where the impression is coming from that Vietnam is some kind of taboo subject in the US. It's not. Especially not recognizing that it was a complete failure. Hell, how many hit movies have their been over the years that emphasize this? And those are just freakin' movies...why is a teacher going to feel the need to gloss over it? You pretty much can't teach anything afterwards since it's so strongly shaped almost everything that happened from roughly 1965 onwards. Are there some crappy teachers/schools out there that aren't going to get to it or rush over it? Sure...the educational quality in this country, especially at the public schools, is appalling. But is it happening because of some kind of willful ignorance or intellectual cover-up? Please.
#20
Posted 16 September 2006 - 07:30 AM
That's a bit of a demagogue statement in my opinion. Why wouldn't you have the Iraq war? Just because war is inhumane? I think we've had a couple thousand years to recognize that, and frankly, I don't believe Dubya wouldn't have started fighting for the damn oil if teachers had focused more on this particular war at school. Politics are completely separated from human values and emotions.
#22
Posted 16 September 2006 - 12:04 PM
#24
Posted 16 September 2006 - 11:51 PM
*Raises hand*
#26
Posted 17 September 2006 - 12:17 AM
Can you tell me what you specifically learned and for how long? I know it might have been a long time ago but please try to remember.
#27
Posted 17 September 2006 - 11:43 AM
I highly doubt you'll find a legitimate agenda or effort to ignore or distort the history of the war. I think your friends simply highlight an overall lack of understand and appreciation for their own history that far too many Americans have these days. You likely would have gotten similar answers from then over any major American historical issue older than, say, 20 years ago.
This post has been edited by MyPantsAreOnFire: 17 September 2006 - 11:45 AM
#28
Posted 18 September 2006 - 05:53 AM
Seems sad, but I guess as long as the average American knows more about the American Civil War then me, everything will be ok.
#29
Posted 18 September 2006 - 04:50 PM
Sadly, I would not take that as a bet.
#30
Posted 11 October 2006 - 08:08 PM
I think if the Vietnam war isn't imphasized, I think it's because teachers are trying to rush at the end of the semester rather than a desire to hush it. My American history teacher in 8th grade had everyone in my class do a presentation on a topic about the Vietnam War, and she even had a Vietnam veteran visit us to speak. I think my topic was Agent Orange. In 10th grade we did the whole spectrum from Spanish colonization to current events, and then in 12th grade i took World history and things got blurry after the Korean War.
I'm a recent high school graduate, and without reading any of the above responses, here's what I remember...
The situation in French Indochina was that Ho Chih Min, backed by China, were hating all up on the southern people, who were poorly armed and outnumbered. The President, I don't remember who, thought it would be a really good idea to hold off the Communist invasion, because it would somehow prove that capitalism was the only way to go.
So the soldiers landed, and sat around and waited, and got attacked by the Viet Kong with their dull machetes and underground tunnels, and waited some more, and the president never ordered an attack because he was only interested in holding on capitalist Vietnam, not reuniting it or any of that bollocks. Since there weren't enough South Vietnamese soldiers, it was mostly Americans on the front, and all they could do was sit back and breathe in the napalm and agent orange.
Then the president died and the new guy pulled the soldiers out and evil prevailed.
Also, domino theory mutually assured destruction intercontinental ballistic missile.
EDIT: Oh yeah, reading MyPantsAreOnFire's post reminded me that the Vietnam War is supposedly the first war to be ended because of popular opinion.
This post has been edited by Ninja Duck: 11 October 2006 - 08:10 PM