The Root of the Protestor

So, I was in high school and college during the Viet Nam war. And somehow, having been a slight bit of a war protestor (I was in a COLLEGE that I was paying for- working 2 jobs in the summers- and I wasn't going to throw that away, so I went to class), I look at the demonstrators today and wonder what they think they are doing. But then I remember, though demonstrations have occured throughout recorded history, what these kids are doing are a direct result of what they know: that protest can work.
I have strong feelings about Viet Nam.
I have a friend who just asked what it was all for. So I replied to her-


The main reason to be there was to stop the Chinese and communist sympathizers from spreading communism throughout southeast Asia. The Viet Nam war did sort of accomplish that but even further and more importantly, the war kept RUSSIA and CHINA very busy- it kept their resources pouring into southeast Asia. It kept them busy during the cold war, and it weakened them, especially Russia, tremendously. The fall of the USSR, while linked to the failure of communism in general, is also due to the Viet Nam war. We really no longer fear what was a real and present danger in our day to day lives- that of Russian aggression and war mongering. In a very direct way, the Viet Nam war gave the German’s a reunited Germany.

Was it worth it? Well, who knows what would have happened if Russia and China had kept spreading tentacles and growing in military and nuclear strength?

I don’t know if this was the plan initially, but it certainly was the result.

The most unfortunate legacy of the war is the result it had on our generation. We (the generic “we”) became afraid to defend ourselves, afraid to save other nations and willing to watch dictators murder their own people. The liberals who pretend to be so kind hearted actually don’t give a crap about the hundreds of thousands of murdered Iraqi’s, or the mutilated women, or the child pornography- they just don’t want a “war”. Of course, no one wants war. But the kids of the 60s and 70s, the kids who were the first real generation to have a “childhood”, never grew up. Many of them are still toddlers in their minds wanting things only their way. And of course, the drugs. We passed that legacy down to our kids and grandkids. What a shame- but all in the name of “counterculture” and “anti-war”.
But yet, the protests then were close to home- our fathers, our brothers, our classmates- they were drafted and many didn't come home. 58,000 didn't come home.

So, young people demonstrating- it's nothing new. But the question is, do they even GET what the previous protests were for? They scream about corporations, but then hold a moment of silence for Steve Jobs and wave their iphones around in a moment of solidarity to Jobs. Really? It just doesn't compare. Protest is fine- it's actually patriotic. Somehow, these protestors seem foolish, ill informed and insincere. But because nothing says "party" these days like a little protest with some violence thrown in, they will run their course. It's pretty pathetic.



I’m not saying we should have killed all those young men- of course not. But the war did have intended and unintended reaches into the future.