What Is The Focal Point Of The Fog Of Vietnam

The ability for American citizens to possess the freedom of speech and the right to protest makes the United States such a special place. Throughout numerous points in its history, Americans have expressed their freedoms to fight injustices. One of the biggest fights Americans had to face took place in the late 1960’s: protesting the War in Vietnam. At the time, Vietnam was split into two states: communist North Vietnam and capitalist South Vietnam. Simultaneously, the United States government found itself in an ideological struggle with the communist Soviet Union. The American government had fear in the “Domino Theory:” the idea that communism would spread throughout the world dismantling capitalist regimes, and eventually, sparking a communist
revolution in the United States. Thus, the government sent hundreds of thousands of American troops to South Vietnam. Americans grew outraged as they saw no point in entertaining a war on the other side of the world to combat communism. The anti-war sentiments that pop culture echoed through activism, art, and the media helped perpetuate protest throughout the country and the idea that the Vietnam War had no point to it. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a minister from Atlanta, GA, fought tooth and nail for the racial equality of African Americans across the country. Because of his efforts, Dr. King turned into a house-hold name and a recognizable character on television screens to all Americans. Not only did he lead the fight against segregation and racism, but he also opposed the Vietnam War. On April 30, 1967, in the Riverside Church in New York, Dr. King delivered a speech titled: “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam.” In this speech he states:
The only change came from America was we increased our troop commitments in support of governments which were singularly corrupt, inept, and without popular support and all the while the people read our leaflets and received regular promises of peace and democracy and land reform. Now they languish under our bombs and consider us, not their fellow Vietnamese, the real enemy. Dr. King, a man who negotiates differences through peace, emphasizes that fighting this war has no purpose. He also echoes a sense of empathy throughout this speech. African Americans did not have equal rights, faced constant prejudices, and in some cases, killed because of the color of their skin. American soldiers in Vietnam treated Vietnamese civilians in a similar fashion: assaulting or raping women, destroying crops, and burning down villages. Thus, Vietnamese civilians developed a hatred towards American soldiers. Dr. King continues to endorse the Civil Rights Movement throughout by continually saying that young black men, “has been crippled by society [and are being sent] eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in South Asia, when they are not found in Southwest Georgia and East Harlem.” Essentially, King wanted all Americans to oppose the war in Vietnam and focus on the internal war at home between different racial identities. Due to King’s prominence as a speaker, activist, and minister, he helped jump-start the anti-war protests. People around the country began to rally behind anti-war sentiments. Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., musical artists such as Marvin Gaye had a large impact on the anti-war movement. Music serves as a powerful tool to ignite change and protest; it rallies people together. Motown Records, a record company in Detroit, Michigan, had a large amount of success with African American artists throughout the 1960’s. Marvin Gaye, a successful young African American singer, brought an idea of an anti-war album to the founder of Motown Records Berry Gordy Jr. At first, Gordy did not approve of the idea, but he eventually gave in and allowed Gaye to pursue his goal. This album titled, What’s Going On, became one of Motown Record’s best-selling albums. In 2012, Rolling Stone magazine released a list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All-Time;” Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On came in at number six. The title track of this album is especially powerful to the listener:
Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today, eheh
Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate. Gaye’s beautiful voice echoes anti-war sentiments throughout this song. His lyrics show how mothers feel a great sadness to the news that their sons have died in battle. The line “father, father, we don’t need to escalate” serves as a metaphor for American politicians and President Richard Nixon. Gaye speaks directly to them in this song by telling the President that sending additional troops to the war in Vietnam does not solve any problems, it only makes matters worse. As evidenced in its sales, Americans felt a strong connection to this album; they desperately wanted this terrible war to end. Almost everyone knew someone who died in the fight as 58,228 Americans lost their lives in Vietnam. The power of this album helped spark anger in thousands of individuals around the country. What’s Going On helped define the feelings of the war and served as a theme for numerous anti-war protests scattered across the country. While Marvin Gaye lit up the airwaves, Walter Cronkite highlighted the evening news segment throughout the duration of the Vietnam War. One of America’s most beloved news anchors, Cronkite decided to take a trip to Saigon, South Vietnam in the early months of 1968 to observe the status of the war. He arrived shortly after the famed Tet Offensive: a surprise attack from communist rebels on American forces in South Vietnam. Americans suffered mightily. Cronkite returned to the United States and stunned the American public by saying the following on CBS Evening News on February 27, 1968:
To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe in the face of the evidence of the optimists that have been wrong in the past. To suggest that we are on the yield of defeat, is subject to unreasonable pessimists. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, if unsatisfactory conclusion. On the off chance that military personnel and political analysts are right, in the next few months we must test the enemy’s intentions in case this is indeed the last big gap before negotiations. But it is increasingly clear to this report, that the only rational way out, is to then negotiate not as victors but as honorable people who lived up their pledge to defend democracy and did the best they could. This is Walter Cronkite, good night. Millions turned into Cronkite for the nightly news every night. Following this report, Americans felt increasingly agitated with the events unfolding in Vietnam. Needless to say, the media plays a huge role in to what Americans think. Anti-war sentiment and protest continued to escalate across the country following Cronkite’s report on Vietnam. Americans began to not trust the American government. Cronkite could only express what was happening by way of verbal communication. Americans could not physically see the destruction. Thus, in 1979, perhaps one of the most graphic films of all-time, Apocalypse Now, was released to the American public. Being a war film, it accurately depicts the horrors of the Vietnam war and it leaves individuals having nightmares about its terrorizing scenes. Right off the bat, in its opening scene, the shot fades in on innocent Vietnamese palm trees. To add suspense, the director slowly increases the volume of the song, “The End” by the Doors. As soon as Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the Doors, sings the lyric, “this is the end,” bombs begin to explode and the viewer sees nothing but engulfing flames. As the song keeps playing, bombs continue to ignite and helicopters are seen flying about. This bone-chilling opening scene sets the mood for the entire film. Viewers see endless explosions, constant gunfire, and helicopters inflicting hell on Vietnamese citizens all throughout the movie. Americans now have the ability to experience the horrors of Vietnam from their hometown movie theaters or in the comfort of their own living rooms for the first time. The different facets of pop-culture: activism, music, media, and film helped force President Lyndon B.
Johnson to not seek reelection in 1968. Johnson felt overwhelmed by what the internal hatred towards the war in Vietnam; he could not handle the pressure any longer. A majority of the American public, along with people of fame, wanted to prove that the war in Vietnam had no point. Well, thirty-five years later, Robert McNamara, President Johnson’s Secretary of Defense, was the focal point of a documentary titled: The Fog of War. This documentary outlines McNamara’s life and examines crucial decisions that he made during the Vietnam War. The most intriguing part of the documentary takes place when McNamara discusses his trip to Vietnam in 1995 to have dinner with the Vietnamese Foreign Minister. Over dinner, the two men got into a huge argument about the events that unfolded three decades prior. As stated previously, the United States felt that Vietnam served as a communist puppet state. McNamara reiterated that point over dinner. In response, the Vietnamese Foreign Minister said the following: “We were fighting for our independence! We were not pawns of the Chinese or the Russians, we have been fighting the Chinese for the last 1000 years! No amount of US pressure could have stopped us!” The United States got themselves entangled in a civil war in an impoverished Southeast Asian country fighting for its independence. Vietnam did not have the economic strength to build a military that could threaten Cambodia, their next door neighbor. Thus, if Vietnam did not have the support of the Chinese or the Russians, then how could they possibly serve as a threat to the United States? Ultimately, Martin Luther King, Marvin Gaye, Walter Cronkite, and every other anti-war protester and supporter were correct: The Vietnam War served no purpose and no benefit to the United States whatsoever. The United States lost this war big
time.