I recently read a book that changed the way I viewed history. The title of this post is it's title and it was written by a man named Dr. Thomas Dooley, M.D. The book was a typical memoir of a young idealistic doctor who felt he could do more with his life. He traveled to a remote series of villages in S.E. Asia and helped eradicate horrible diseases and performed (rather sub-standard) massive surgeries that changed and saved lives. He then described with horror a force that was killing imprisoning and maiming countless innocent people it was the Viet Cong. The thing that was intriguing about this book was that this man developed a tumor and died in early 1961 just as the war really began. He spent those early war years in Asia and he was caught up in his work and never knew of the upheaval at home. The way that he described the region fascinated me.
I have always been taught that we arrived in Vietnam and encouraged terrorist activities by our presence, and killed a lot of innocent people without doing any real good, all for some nebulous cause to "stop the spread of communism." Then we got a conscience and cut our losses and pulled out.
This book taught me that the notorious booby traps and land mines that plagued our soldiers there, were not there for us. The way the Viet Cong operated (long before we got there) was that they would set up a perimeter around a city and booby trap to maintain that perimeter. They would then infiltrate the city separate the genders, and basically created the equivalent of a concentration camp within. I wont go into the tortures and maiming enacted there. Lets just say that they were a real terrorist group and not just people suspected of "trying to spread communism."
I have always assumed that we lived in a country that prized the truth. I have come to the conclusion that the reason such a skewed view of this war is so common is that those same college students who opposed the war then, still oppose it and now. They have mailable clay in their hands and are teaching the version of history they wish to be told.
That being said, I suppose that there is some truth that in light of all of these facts that there were still plenty of moral/economical/ and logical reasons we should have stayed away. What business are the politics and even the terrorism in other parts of the world that could never touch us directly, of ours? I don't know.
However, I can't help but feel that it must be hard for those in positions of power to see atrocities, and not want to help. The media of the time had a lot to say on behalf of the poor protesters who kept being fire hosed and arrested, then released the next day etc... but for me all of that paled in comparison with the people I learned about who had miraculously survived one of the camps I described earlier.
I suppose it is clear where I am going with this... don't worry I don't expect anyone to agree, I have just been thinking again...
when looking at the landscape of the world the leaders of our country are given a sadistic choice. Who to save. I think it can safely be said that ever since at least WWII our country's roll has been to liberate and police the world. It is hard to hear of all of the collapsing governments, the military huntas, and the genocide all over the world, to say nothing of the starvation. So who if anyone do we help?
well... is it a political issue? is it moral? is it economical? or are all of those things important?
the way I see it Iraq and Afghanistan are the logical choice if we are going to help someone. (which apparently we do want to do) The politically correct choice is Africa. I don't know which country, but I can't help but feel it would be more popular to be somewhere on that continent. The problem with Africa is, that it is a huge quagmire. Africa is way less advanced and way less dangerous to the rest of the world than to itself, therefore it is the proverbial fighting spears with guns. so they are left to themselves (mostly) besides I think hatred of the west is less common there than other regions.
Being the world power we pick the target that effects us (and hopefully the world) the most. Unlike the Viet Cong, the Islamic extremists in Afghanistan have proven multiple times that they are a threat to us and many other western nations. They have access to some nasty technology, and they have no qualms about using it against everyone(even their own families). The same is true of Iraq. Iraq is the more controversial of the wars, but the war aside, I think it would be pretty hard to find a non-terrorist who misses Saddam Hussein.
What is the point of all of this? well.. I can't help but feel that the criticism in this country has been misplaced. There is definitely a controversy, but I think once again the media and the public are skewing reality. I have family and Friends in the wars currently, and they come back with a whole different story about what is really going on. I have heard a lot of stories of people who have been thanked personally for trying to help. I had a friend who told me that every day when his group would go out to run at 4:00 in the morning they were followed by an entourage of children who just wanted to be with them. so, even though plenty of people resent our presence, plenty of people are grateful.
let's just remember that not everyone can go to the store, Church, and school without danger. and be grateful for a country that has not been run by terrorists in any living memory.
