Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese Communist revolutionary leader who played the most important role in leading and inspiring Vietnamese civilians and soldiers to fight for a united Vietnam, once said: “Our resistance will be long and painful, but whatever the sacrifices, however long the struggle, we shall fight to the end, until Vietnam is fully independent and reunified.” One might wonder about the strength and endurance from such a small and insignificant nation as Vietnam. The country has undergone 1000 years of the Chinese dominance, 80 years of French colonization and 20 years of division with a second Vietnam created in the South and supported by the U.S., since the U.S. wanted to control the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia. The answer …show more content…
In his book Imagined Communities, Anderson points out “some tentative suggestions” to the abstract concept of “nation, nationality, and nationalism.” Nation, according to Anderson, is “an imagined political community […] both inherently limited and sovereign.” A nation is imagined because all members cannot know about the existence of each other, but there is still something that connects their minds and souls together. For example, Vietnam 1000 years ago was a small and insignificant country. Yet its people were patriotic and unified through the shared experience that evoked emotion. It was the national anthem that they sung before every match or to begin a week at work (it is happening happens in Vietnam today that K-12 students sing the national anthem together before going to classes), which made the Vietnamese feel proud and belonged. It was also the language – the most unique and effective way of communicating in a community that connected the people …show more content…
The last characteristic and also the most important that directs us to the answer to the question raised at the beginning of the essay about self-sacrificing for one’s nation, is the notion of brotherhood in a community. North Vietnam gained independence in 1954 after the Geneva Accords, while South Vietnam was building a new country called Republic of Vietnam with significant U.S. involvement . The feeling of reunification, with an imagined community was the impetus that urged thousands of troops from the North to fight for a unified Vietnam. The North Vietnamese didn’t know all of the South Vietnamese, but always in their hearts, and minds, existed the familiar feelings of family, of reunification with their own brothers – their flesh and blood. Therefore, the troops from the North weren’t scrupulous at all to come to the South for their
The Vietnam War: A Concise International History is a strong book that portrays a vivid picture of both sides of the war. By getting access to new information and using valid sources, Lawrence’s study deserves credibility. After reading this book, a new light and understanding of the Vietnam war exists.
Vietnam was a highly debated war among citizens of the United States. This war was like no other with regards to how it affected people on the home front. In past war’s, the population of the United States mainly supported the war and admired soldiers for their courage. During the Vietnam War, citizens of the U.S. had a contradictory view than in the past. This dilemma of not having the support of the people originates from the culture and the time period.
When Vietnamese revolutionary Ho Chi Minh and his political organization, the Vietminh, seized control of their independence from France United States Politicians saw it as another communist take over. When really Ho was more a nationalist than a communist. All Minh wanted was for the United States to recognize its independence from France and to send aid to help it reach its nationalistic goals. "Before the Cold War Ho and the Vietmin...
In his article, “To Be Patriotic is to Build Socialsim”: Communist Ideology in Vietnam's Civil War, Tuong Vo challenges a standard view of the civil war between North and South Vietnam – the war is power struggle between the two camps. Based on a newly availble documents and other primary sources, Vu argues that “[V]ietnamese communists never wavered in their ideology loyalty during the period when key decisions about the civil war were made (1953–1960).....a modernizing socialist idology rather than a mere for national unification was driving the Vietnamese civil war from the north” (Vu 2009, 34–35).
The book, Cold War Mandarin Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America’s War in Vietnam 1950-1963, by Seth Jacobs is a comprehensive retelling of the rise and fall of Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in South Vietnam. In that retelling Jacob focuses on the major events that took place in Vietnam as well as showed how America backed a leader that did nothing to booster his nation and led America into one of the worst wars in its history. The Diem regime was a corrupt and tyrannical government that used the United States’ fears of communism to push its own goals that ultimately led to its own demise. Jacob viewed the escalation of America’s involvement in Vietnam as the following, “The nine-year “experiment” that ended when Diem died was America’s crossover point from advice and support to active cobelligerency in a Vietnamese civil war” (8).
In order to give a just analysis, to give an examination of the Vietnam Counter-Culture, one would have to look to the preliminary causes, the debates and diplomacy of the youth themselves, and the reflection where this has influenced today’s youth. I am proud to say that as an American I am proud of the simple origins of the peace and love philosophy. Coupled with the causes of freedom, comes a cause for peace and love. Simply put, why can’t we be friends? Why can’t we love our neighbors in the world? Why not peace and love?
The Vietnam War to this day is thought of as a grim, long-lasting battle that took place between 1955 and 1975. The American people were never fond of this war, as they polled and constantly spoke out against the idea of being involved in Vietnam throughout the entire duration it took place. This war was fought between North Vietnam (with their Soviet, Chinese and other communist allies) and South Vietnam whose main supporter and ally was the United States. This paper will validate what this war was like for the American troops and all the diversity they were able to overcome. Ranging from the lack of American support, to the physical combat and hardships the soldiers had to face while on the battleground.
...sided fashion, one in which we have no sorrow for the "communists." But what we see is that Vietnamese soldiers were not fighting for communism, they were fighting because the government ordered them to. "The ones who loved war were not the young men but the others like the politicians, middle-aged men with fat bellies and short legs." (75) Repeatedly The Sorrow of War reveals the deep suffering of Vietnam. One can not say, however, that American soldiers returned unscathed. The most important thing we see when we read the two aforementioned works is not the differences, but the similarities. War is hellish and unnatural for both sides. In the aftermath, our common humanity becomes evident in universal suffering.
Throughout the years, humans have constructed many unique civilizations; all which follow a distinct social, economic, and political structure. Even so, there is one characteristic that prevails among these societies, the concept of nationalism. In short, nationalism refers to the feelings people have when identifying with their nation. This simple notion possesses the ability to divide or unite collective groups, and has played an important role in many historical events.
The Vietnam War was a very confrontational issue amongst numerous Americans during the 1960’s and 70’s. Many young Americans did not agree with fighting in the Vietnam War. In the essay “On the Rainy River,” by Tim O’Brien explains the struggle of a 21 year old American man who has been drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. The essay proposes the narrators predicament of not wanting to go to war and displays his reasons why. The narrator states that “American war in Vietnam seemed to [him as being] wrong [and he] saw no unity of purpose” (40). One main reason that the narrator and many Americans did not see any importance of the Vietnam War is because know one had a clear understanding of the reasons why the United States of America was fighting it. O’Brien creates a strong argument of why the 21 year old man does not want to go to war because of its strongly supported use of values and emotions, credibility, and logical reasoning.
He sees that it is the weaker party , which only has a personnel strength of approximately 50,000 personnel to fight against America and its allies with modern equipment and weaponry . In addition to strength in terms of personnel , the leader of Vietnam 's Ho Chi Minh communist movement also realize that military equipment and soldiers fighting capability is very limited . But in terms of mastery of the battlefield as well as the support of the community in the Vietnam war , it is a positive factor and excellence in the fight against the Americans .
In “The man behind Abercrombie and Fitch.” An interview conducted by Benoit Denizet-Lewis displays a glimpse into the life of Mike Jeffries and his views of his company only hiring “good-looking” people and targeting “good-looking” people to wear his clothes. This has been done in order to force his audience to recognize that the issue of acceptance one’s peers and exclusion of a community mentioned by Mike Jeffries, is a result of cultural perceptions and individual self-image. Denizet-Lewis skillfully shows that while Jeffries remarks of not wanting the “not-so-popular” kids to shop in his stores, it poses a question to consumers asking what change in our attitudes will come or if there will be any change at all. Thus comes the issue of how consumers today have a shift in the reasoning behind why one buys clothing and the motivating factors that influence one to buy certain clothing. Denizet-Lewis also demonstrates the different messages that controversial advertisements and statements affect different groups of people and how what they project is really what people desire, though deemed by many people as unacceptable or inappropriate. The author also examines how in the news media, the image has become more important than the message and how images have taken precedent over actual issues and character. As a result of this, various communities have formed by the construct of selling to “beautiful people” and how popular appeal has become an extension of a person.
Nationalism is way of thinking both political and socially to create a community united by: history, ethnicity, religions, common culture, and language. Numerous effects occurred while establishing a Nationalist community, some effects were a long term impact on Nationalism, and other was short term impacts on Nationalism.
War in Vietnam is the longest military conflict U.S. were involved in during 20th century. However, 20 years before the official war declaration, in 1944, no one would have ever guessed that the area of South East Asia is going to experience such development. Having approached the Vietnam situation with wrong policy, underestimating the motivation and determination due to historical memory, in the hostile conditions caused US were unable to suppress the communist insurgency in South Vietnam, which later turned into a David vs. Goliath type of conflict.
September 2, 1945 is an important date in that it saw the end of World War II and the declaration of Vietnam independence. Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Communist party in Vietnam, stood in front of tens of thousands of citizens in Ba Dinh Square and delivered a speech that declared the independence of Vietnam. This declaration followed after Vietnam’s August Revolution that saw them take control of Vietnam, and within a couple of weeks, Ho Chi Minh delivered this speech to the masses. The content of speech is significant as it served the purposes of awakening this revolutionary spirit inside individuals to defend their right to be an independent country. Ho Chi Minh opened his speech by having cited the important statements from the Declaration