War, genocide, and slavery have been common themes throughout American history. In determining why these atrocities have happened and reoccurred, one must consider the roles obedience and disobedience have played in these events. Obedience is the conformance of rules established by an authority figure. On the other hand, disobedience is the refusal to follow the rules established by an authority figure, even when realizing the consequences. In A People 's History of the United States, Howard Zinn states that the most terrible things have occurred in the United States as a result of obedience. Zinn’s statement is invalid because both obedience and disobedience have resulted in war, genocide, and slavery. Christopher Columbus’ obedience
…show more content…
The United States got involved with the Vietnam War to prevent Vietnam from unifying under communist rule, believing that if one country became communist, others would follow. The war was launched after a fabricated incident about American destroyers being attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats, which is known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Congress responded to the Gulf of Tonkin incident by voting unanimously to allow President Lyndon B. Johnson “...to take military action as he saw fit in Southeast Asia” (476). Over 500,000 American troops were in Vietnam by early 1968, devastating the country by following the orders given to them by their superiors. For example, soldiers were directed to conduct the My Lai massacre by Lieutenant Calley. In the small village of My Lai, American soldiers rounded up the inhabitants and ordered them into a ditch, where they were shot to death. In his book My Lai 4, journalist Seymour Hersh wrote, “‘It was estimated that between 450 and 500 people- most of them women, children and old men- had been slain and buried there’” (479). Another example of the horrors that took place in Vietnam through the actions of American soldiers included the destruction of villages suspected of hiding Viet Cong. American soldiers did ‘search and destroy’ missions in those villages, killing men of military age, burning down homes, and …show more content…
Incidents such as Columbus obeying the orders of the king and queen of Spain or American soldiers obeying orders from their superiors have resulted in genocide and war because both parties followed destructive demands.
The United States got involved with the Vietnam War to prevent Vietnam from unifying under communist rule, believing that if one country became communist, others would follow. The war was launched after a fabricated incident about American destroyers being attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats, which is known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Congress responded to the Gulf of Tonkin incident by voting unanimously to allow President Lyndon B. Johnson “...to take military action as he saw fit in Southeast Asia” (476). Over 500,000 American troops were in Vietnam by early 1968, devastating the country by following the orders given to them by their superiors. For example, soldiers were directed to conduct the My Lai massacre by Lieutenant Calley. In the small village of My Lai, American soldiers rounded up the inhabitants and ordered them into a ditch, where they were shot to death. In his book My Lai 4, journalist Seymour Hersh wrote, “‘It was estimated that between 450 and 500 people- most of them women, children and old men- had been slain and buried there’” (479). Another example of the horrors that took place in Vietnam through the actions of American soldiers included the destruction of villages suspected of hiding Viet Cong. American soldiers did ‘search and destroy’ missions in those villages, killing men of military age, burning down homes, and …show more content…
Incidents such as Columbus obeying the orders of the king and queen of Spain or American soldiers obeying orders from their superiors have resulted in genocide and war because both parties followed destructive demands.