Times of Change - Vietnam and the 60s reading day 4

Dear Vietnam Veterans,

When I first saw the Vietnam War memorial, I felt a strange feeling throughout my body. When seeing your names on that memorial, I was very emotional. Even though nobody I know served in Vietnam, I felt as if I could see myself in Vietnam. Of course, I can never truly understand what you veterans had to deal with just to survive over there. No one can.
Basir Hussaini

Times of Change – Vietnam and the 60s readings day 3

Farmer Nguyen, Massacre at My Lai, A Nun at Ninh Hoa:

What do these two poems and the article say about the impact of the war on the native Vietnamese? Can you think of any other ways in which the war will impact the native Vietnamese? These 3 readings show how the war hurt the Vietnamese civilians. The peom "Farmer Nguyen shows how civilians were forced to take sides, and the that the civilians didn't help hurt them. The Massacre shows how cruel soldiers were to innocent people who hadn't done a thing. The last poem shows what people in Vietnam did to themselves in anger at the war. Other ways the war impacted the natives of Vietnam was the destruction of the land. Because of all the bombs and guns, many parts of Vietnam were probably destroyed. Villages were probably destroyed also.

Times of Change – Vietnam and the 60s readings day 2

Jack Smith:
What challenges does Jack Smith face as a soldier in Vietnam? (a bulleted list is fine)

• Booby traps.
• Enemy fire.
• Battle.
• Napalm
• Dehydration
• Foxholes.
• snipers.

How does Smith’s attitude toward war change? At the beginning of the account, Smith thought that war was all about fighting for your country, and that joining the army would be exciting. By the end, however, he realizes that no matter what you start out going to war for, in the end you die for your friends.

I Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die Rag:

What is the song asking the “big strong men to do”? It's asking the "big strong men" (soldiers) to grab their guns and go kill people in Vietnam.

… the “generals” to do? The song is telling the generals that they have to hurry and kill every last communist in Vietnam, because peace can "only" be won by killing everyone.

… “Wall Street” to do? To make more weapons for the army to kill more people.

… “mothers” to do? The song is telling them to hurry up and get their children ready for war, only to be the first to get their son's corpse.

Write down four specific lines from the song that display sarcasm, cynicism, or anti-war sentiment. 1. We're gonna have a whole lotta fun! 2. Whoopee! We're all gonna die!" 3. And you know that peace can only be won when we've blown 'em all to kingdom come. 4. Be the first one on your block to have your boy come home in a box.

Times of Change – Vietnam and the 60s readings day 1

A Dubious Crusade:
Look up both words in the title of the short essay. What do they mean? Dubious means uncertain or controversial, and a crusade is a conflict over a certain issue. So these two combined means a conflict that people disagree and agree on.

Relate the title to the reading. What is Warren saying? How do you think this will relate to the rest of our study if Vietnam? He is saying that during this conflict, many countries fought and killed each other at the cost of civilians.


History:
What is the main thesis of the essay? That the start of the Vietnam war might have been started by a lie.

What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution? The support given by Congress to President Johnson to "defend United States interest in Vietnam".

What evidence does the author give to support his thesis? The author talks about how many politicians had disagreed with Johnson. He talks about how their is no true evidence that the Maddox was attacked.

How does this link to the theme of the first reading, “A Dubious Crusade”? This shows how the Vietnam War was so controversial and confusing. Many people didn't think that Johnson was telling the truth, and many people were confused about if the Maddox was really attacked.

10 facts about the Korean War

• Korea, a former colony of Japan until they surrended it to the Allies, was split between the US and the USSR at the 38th parallel. The USSR had the north, and America had the south.
• In June of 1950, Joseph Stalin, the communist leader of the USSR, ordered North Korea to unite all of Korea under communism. North Korea invaded South Korea.
• President Truman, fearing that the invasion of South Korea was only the beginning of the spread of communism, appealed to the United Nations to support South Korea.
• Sixteen nation from the United Nations gave soldiers to fight in Korea.
• The US gave the most, and the army was put under command of Douglas MacArthur, the WWII hero with the famous line "I will return."
• During the beginning of the war, the North Koreans had pushed the South Koreans back to Pusan, a city on the southeastern tip of Korea. MacArthur turned the situation into his favor by landing behind the North Korea line.
• The North Koreans were being pressed from both sides, so they retreated across the 38th parallel. MacArthur was allowed to pursue the enemy.
• Because of America's advance into North Korea, China became worried that America was threatening China's safety. On November 25, 1950, Chinese Communist forces attacked American troops. This forced MacArthur to retreat to South Korea.
• Because of China's involvement in the war, MacArthur wanted to bomb China with atomic bombs and blockade China's coast. However, Truman refused, thinking that this would make the USSR get involved as well.
• MacArthur kept trying to win support for his idea, but Truman thought that MacArthur was undermining civilian military control. Because of this, MacArthur was fired despite his support from many Americans.

Is MLK's dream a reality?

Minority groups have been doing well according to the recent statistics. For hispanic americans, african americans, and other minority groups, the median income of households has increased greatly over the past two decades. In 1980, the median income in current dollars was 10,764. By 2003, it has gone up to 29, 645!
However, there is still inequality between whites and minority groups. The percent of African Americans who are in poverty in 2003 is over 33%. Almost a third African Americans under 18 are in poverty! For hispanics, 30% are in poverty. Only 13% of whites are impoverished. This shows that there is still a huge difference between whites and minority groups.
The reason that more minority groups are impoverished are probably problems in their households and neighborhoods. Poor neighborhoods should recieve more help from the government, and better schools for the children. This would solve the povery problem. Also, more laws should be passed to give more money to poor families.