The United States government as well as its citizens can agree that we should have never involved ourselves in Vietnam in the late fifties. The Vietnam war was an unwinnable war that only caused strife to America. United States citizens were hesitant to support their own government afterwards. They were also hesitant towards foreign interventions as well. Then along came the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Sixty-six American’s were held hostage for four hundred forty-four days by radical Islamic fundamentalists. American’s viewed their government with more distain and cynicism than ever before. Through David Farber’s novel, Taken Hostage, we are given an in-depth look into the capture with a detailed background that illustrates the lasting impacts
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Though American’s had grown cynical of their government, they still had an overwhelming love for their country and were not afraid to protest their opinions together. Farber explains the sense of community the nation felt in the novel. “The outpouring of empathy for the hostages and their families revealed that millions of Americans at the end of the 1970s had maintained a powerful desire for bonds of national community” (Farber, 3). People were heartbroken over the crisis. Millions of people wrote letters to hostages and their families and placed yellow ribbons around their homes and clothes to symbolize their sympathy for the families and hostages (Farber, 1). During the Vietnam War, people protested in the streets demanding the U.S. pull out of the war and focus more on domestic issues, and in-turn the Era of Protest had begun (Winter ’16 condensed Vietnam, 3/1). The demands for social change in the 1960s were at an all-time high. The effects of these protests for change were bringing about mass patriotism. The American public’s negative opinion of the war caused the Vietnam Syndrome (Winter ’16 condensed Vietnam, 3/1). This hesitation to send troops overseas ultimately played a huge role in the public opinions of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. People were still affected by the Vietnam War and that carried over during the crisis in the 70’s. …show more content…
The people’s involvement in the United States foreign affairs through the media was first brought to light by the Vietnam War. Full freedom of the press was given, allowing people to see the horrific images of the war. Through devastating images of fellow American’s suffering on the battlefield, people became even more disgusted with the war and their support drastically declined. Farber noted that through “television talk shows, the evening news, drive-time radio, and almost every other forum of public conversation,” America was able to keep up to date with the latest news in Iran (Farber, 2). Before the crisis, American’s hardly knew anything about American policy within Iran. Farber suggests that the people’s increasing hatred of Carter was partly due to the media’s influence, constantly reminding the public of his failures during the hostage crisis. The media helped open the eyes of American’s for both the Vietnam War and the Iranian Hostage Crisis and allowed them to become more
Though American’s had grown cynical of their government, they still had an overwhelming love for their country and were not afraid to protest their opinions together. Farber explains the sense of community the nation felt in the novel. “The outpouring of empathy for the hostages and their families revealed that millions of Americans at the end of the 1970s had maintained a powerful desire for bonds of national community” (Farber, 3). People were heartbroken over the crisis. Millions of people wrote letters to hostages and their families and placed yellow ribbons around their homes and clothes to symbolize their sympathy for the families and hostages (Farber, 1). During the Vietnam War, people protested in the streets demanding the U.S. pull out of the war and focus more on domestic issues, and in-turn the Era of Protest had begun (Winter ’16 condensed Vietnam, 3/1). The demands for social change in the 1960s were at an all-time high. The effects of these protests for change were bringing about mass patriotism. The American public’s negative opinion of the war caused the Vietnam Syndrome (Winter ’16 condensed Vietnam, 3/1). This hesitation to send troops overseas ultimately played a huge role in the public opinions of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. People were still affected by the Vietnam War and that carried over during the crisis in the 70’s. …show more content…
The people’s involvement in the United States foreign affairs through the media was first brought to light by the Vietnam War. Full freedom of the press was given, allowing people to see the horrific images of the war. Through devastating images of fellow American’s suffering on the battlefield, people became even more disgusted with the war and their support drastically declined. Farber noted that through “television talk shows, the evening news, drive-time radio, and almost every other forum of public conversation,” America was able to keep up to date with the latest news in Iran (Farber, 2). Before the crisis, American’s hardly knew anything about American policy within Iran. Farber suggests that the people’s increasing hatred of Carter was partly due to the media’s influence, constantly reminding the public of his failures during the hostage crisis. The media helped open the eyes of American’s for both the Vietnam War and the Iranian Hostage Crisis and allowed them to become more