During this period, uncensored media coverage helped to morph American views about military conflicts forever as well as changing the media's role in war. World War II was a time in American history of patriotism. However, that patriotism came a price to the American public according to The Censored War, written by George Roeder. He discusses the impact that censorship had on the American public, and how lies and propaganda gave the citizens of America a false view of war. By portraying participation in the war as heroic, using such propaganda as posters depicting fallen GI's as Christ-like figures (Rodeder 33), the US government formed the perspective for the public, rather than allowing them to develop their own sense of reality.
Stringers and / or reporters from Newsweek, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and the Observer soon followed. (Knightly 1975) Eventually � when the conflict escalated further � “Indochina was flooded with war correspondents” (Herman & Chomsky 1988, 193) Warfare can be conducted for many reasons. In the case of the Vietnam conflict, the conflic... ... middle of paper ... ...; The media showed what happened, no more. And what was going on in Vietnam was not pretty, as with most other wars. It is safe to say that the media did not lose the war, but rather expressed the feeling that the US soldiers were dying by the thousands without a good reason.
Another lesson that Americans learned from the Vietnam conflict was the negative impact of domestic dissent (236-238). It caused governmental hesitation in Congress and anti-war protests, led by the media on the public. This resulted in the under minding of the troops which led to the loss of t... ... middle of paper ... ...tates has learned from past military mistakes was well made and proven. In his article, "The Lessons and Ghosts of Vietnam" Lorenzo M. Crowell deems that the lessons the United States has learned in Vietnam are important to apply to future conflicts. Even though Crowell has some dubious issues that he omits in the article about what really happened in Desert Storm, his overall article is proficient.
Still today, many Americans still ask whether the American effort in the Vietnam War was necessary, a sin, a mistake, or a noble cause, or an idealistic, if failed, effort to protect the South Vietnamese people from the North. In order to truly understand the war you and to determine your own answer to the many questions it is still pending, you must look at the war from every perspective and understand the many facts it produced. Dr. Carl Sagan wrote, “You have to know the past to understand the present”. The Vietnam War is a large part of America’s past. It is important to know of the Vietnam War and to know of those who experienced, so you may learn of how America came to be as it is today and were it may be heading, of whether or not we learned from our mistakes or if we are destined to repeats those made during the Vietnam War again.
There are other reasons the Doves opposed the war including: the unfairly administered draft wartime tactics, the unwanted aid in Vietnam and the graphic scenes of the war broadcasted on television. As the escalation of troops sent to Vietnam marked an all time high, there was an outbreak of anti-war protests and "teach-ins" taking place on college campuses. The Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) were college activists dedicated t... ... middle of paper ... ... war gave rise to the anti-war movement. The anti-war movement was fuelled by fellow musicians because they created songs conveying their feelings of the war. Their songs were so influential because it gave different views and opinions on the war.
Lawrence makes a lot of observations about the Vietnam War and the way that we handled it. He starts his essay by arguing that many different things influenced the policies that the U.S. had during the time of the Cold War. Interactions with other countries and other governments are what crafted the Western policies of the United States and our allies. He argues that the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War was not inevitable. This counters what Michael Lind says; he believes that “the war was both moral and necessary” (Hoffman 439).
Smith, R. B. An International History of the Vietnam War. London: Macmillan, 1985. Print. Summers, Harry G. On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of the Vietnam War.
In times of War, the media plays a crucial role both in reporting, monitoring and giving updates. During the Vietnam War of 1955-1975, the American press played crucial roles of reporting until it ended up shifting its tone under the influence of occurrence of some events like the Tet Offensive, the My Lai Massacre, the bombing of Cambodia and leaking of Pentagon papers resulting into lack of trust in the press (Knightly 1975). From the beginning of the war up to present times there have been undying debates over the role of media in the war. The have been various criticisms over the American News Media’s actions and influences on the outcome of the war. The debate is embedded on the particular political assumptions perceived across the American political spectrum.
In doing this, the Antiwar Movement successfully changed the entire public’s perception towards the government and war. Before the Vietnam War and The Draft, many Americans were uneducated and uninterested in the role of government and foreign policy. The Antiwar Movement forced Americans to acknowledge the major mistakes that the United States government was committing through The Draft and the Vietnam War. Through constant protest and public display of American mistakes, such as the Tet Offensive, the Antiwar Movement successfully changed the public opinion on government and influenced future decision making. After the Tet Offensive was publicly displayed, “American public opinion shifted dramatically with fully half the population opposed to escalation” (Barringer 10).
World War II was a global event that forever changed the world. From devastating events to heart wrenching stories, World War II bore witness to some of the most heinous acts against humanity. A debate exists over the differences between the history and the memory of the war. From historians to the way societies remember it, the war impacted everyone. Many argue that the United States entered the war for ulterior motives others remember its involvement as a necessity in order to prevent a more catastrophic outcome.