The Unforgettable War
In the United States during the 1960’s, there was a massive trepidation against the U.S soldiers who were returning stateside from the Vietnam War. With the 60’s having a plethora of problems and traumatic events, the last thing the American citizens wanted to do was embroil themselves in a war oversees that had no immediate effect on them. With the aversion to the war, the U.S citizens vilified and treated their own troops as warmongers instead of being the everyday citizen they were. Citizens who had lived the perceived normal life of going to work, providing for their family and living the American Dream. While a small percentage of the troops were warmongers who joined the war to spill foreign blood, they were by …show more content…
The first political circumstance that sparked the public hatred towards the troops was the people were not happy with President Johnsons decisions. With President Johnsons decision to bomb North Vietnam along with sending more troops to aid South Vietnam, many of the U.S citizens were not happy with his decision. Since the citizens were upset with Johnsons decisions, the only way they could outwardly show their anger was to the returning troops from Vietnam who were acting under Johnsons orders. The second political reason for the publics hatred of the returning troops was that the United States during that time was in turmoil. With the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in nineteen sixty-three and then the following assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, the United States as a whole was in a huge panic. Martin Luther King Jr’s death sparked outrage in the civil rights movement, resulting in many violent and destructive riots ensuing after their peaceful protesting leader met his unruly demise. The third political reason why for the publics hatred of the troops was the Pentagon Papers. With the Pentagon Papers being released in nineteen seventy-one, four years before the end of the Vietnam War, which disclosed many secrets in the government including the real motives and dealing in the war. The Pentagon Papers revealing that the U.S government …show more content…
The first physiological influence that led to the hatred of Vietnam troops by the public was that the war ruined relationships. With wars in general having a detrimental effect on relationships between the soldiers deployed and their families, Vietnam was no exception. Many of the people who were left at home during the war was jaded towards the loved ones they recently sent out, with many of them second guessing if killing innocent people was what their loved one really enjoyed doing. With that seed planted in many U.S citizens, they started distrusting the loved ones that were in the war, and in turn leading to the hatred of them no matter how misplaced it was. The second physiological influence that led to the hatred of the troops by the U.S citizens was the misunderstanding of the impact that war had on the soldiers themselves. With PTSD not being a fully realized disorder during the sixties, many of the returning soldiers who experienced it were thought to be actual militaristic psychos. “In the late nineteen eighties an in-depth survey of two thousand three hundred and forty-eight Vietnam Veterans found that about thirty percent of them had PTSD at least one time since the wars end” (New York Times, Aug 7 2014). With many of the soldiers enduring this disorder people hated them for being acting strange and being warmongers though they did not know yet that what
In the United States during the 1960’s, there was a massive trepidation against the U.S soldiers who were returning stateside from the Vietnam War. With the 60’s having a plethora of problems and traumatic events, the last thing the American citizens wanted to do was embroil themselves in a war oversees that had no immediate effect on them. With the aversion to the war, the U.S citizens vilified and treated their own troops as warmongers instead of being the everyday citizen they were. Citizens who had lived the perceived normal life of going to work, providing for their family and living the American Dream. While a small percentage of the troops were warmongers who joined the war to spill foreign blood, they were by …show more content…
The first political circumstance that sparked the public hatred towards the troops was the people were not happy with President Johnsons decisions. With President Johnsons decision to bomb North Vietnam along with sending more troops to aid South Vietnam, many of the U.S citizens were not happy with his decision. Since the citizens were upset with Johnsons decisions, the only way they could outwardly show their anger was to the returning troops from Vietnam who were acting under Johnsons orders. The second political reason for the publics hatred of the returning troops was that the United States during that time was in turmoil. With the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in nineteen sixty-three and then the following assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, the United States as a whole was in a huge panic. Martin Luther King Jr’s death sparked outrage in the civil rights movement, resulting in many violent and destructive riots ensuing after their peaceful protesting leader met his unruly demise. The third political reason why for the publics hatred of the troops was the Pentagon Papers. With the Pentagon Papers being released in nineteen seventy-one, four years before the end of the Vietnam War, which disclosed many secrets in the government including the real motives and dealing in the war. The Pentagon Papers revealing that the U.S government …show more content…
The first physiological influence that led to the hatred of Vietnam troops by the public was that the war ruined relationships. With wars in general having a detrimental effect on relationships between the soldiers deployed and their families, Vietnam was no exception. Many of the people who were left at home during the war was jaded towards the loved ones they recently sent out, with many of them second guessing if killing innocent people was what their loved one really enjoyed doing. With that seed planted in many U.S citizens, they started distrusting the loved ones that were in the war, and in turn leading to the hatred of them no matter how misplaced it was. The second physiological influence that led to the hatred of the troops by the U.S citizens was the misunderstanding of the impact that war had on the soldiers themselves. With PTSD not being a fully realized disorder during the sixties, many of the returning soldiers who experienced it were thought to be actual militaristic psychos. “In the late nineteen eighties an in-depth survey of two thousand three hundred and forty-eight Vietnam Veterans found that about thirty percent of them had PTSD at least one time since the wars end” (New York Times, Aug 7 2014). With many of the soldiers enduring this disorder people hated them for being acting strange and being warmongers though they did not know yet that what