Times of Change - 4

Dear Vietnam Veterans,
You guys were and are the ultimate heroes of this country. You put your life on the line so that you could protect the people you love back here in America and also every other American. It must have been extremely hard for you to watch your best friends die right in front of you and at the same time have to fight against enemy fire so you die also. If I had been alive and old enough to fight, I probably wouldn't have the courage to see and so all of these things but at the same time I would realize that it is the right thing to do for my country. This country cannot thank you enough for your ultimate sacrifice to protect America.

Thanks,
Abrar Mohiuddin

Times of Change - 3

Farmer Nguyen by W.D. Ehrhart
Massacre at My Lai by Hugh Thompson
A Nun at Ninh Hoa by Jan Barry

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?
Duringthe war, the Vietnamese people couldnot support either side of the war because if they began to support one side and the other side found out, they would be beaten or killed. Also there wereruthless murders of entire villages by both American and Vietcong forces. If someone protested the banning of a religion, they might putthemselveson fire to show howmuch they care for that religion. The Vietnamese people also suffered by losing their jobs and workplacesand their sources of food.

Times of Change - 2

Jack Smith by Ron Steinman

What challenges does Jack Smith face as a soldier in Vietnam? (a bulleted list is fine)
-Napalm
-Friendly Fire
-Shrapnel
-Being Shot at
-Booby Traps
-Bombs
-Snipers
-Grenades
-Machine guns
-Mortars
-Land mines
-Elephant Grass

How does Smith’s attitude toward war change?

At the beginning of the story, Jack Smith wants to join the army, go to a war and have an adventure. His view changes as he sees people, friends also, die right in front of his eyes and he begins to hate the idea of war.

I Feel Like I’m Fixing To Die Rag by Joe McDonald
This song by Country Joe and the Fish became one of the first protest songs of the Vietnam Era. Read the lyrics to the song, and then respond to the following:

What is the song asking the “big strong men to do”?
It is asking them to join the American Army and to go fight in Vietnam
… the “generals” to do?
It is asking them to kill the communists
… “Wall Street” to do?
It is asking them to make a lot of money by selling war supplies and supporting the war effort.
… “mothers” to do?
It is asking them to send their son's to the war in Vietnam
Write down four specific lines from the song that display sarcasm, cynicism, or anti-war sentiment.
-"What are we fighting for?" "Don't ask me, I don't give a damn.

-"We're gonna have a whole lot of fun."

-"Whooppee! We're all gonna die.

-"The only good commie is the one who's dead."

Times of Change - 1

A Dubious Crusade by James A. Warren
Look up both words in the title of the short essay. What do they mean?
Dubious means doubtful and Crusade means a vigorous, aggressive movement that is meant for defense and/or advancement of an idea or cause.
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?
Warren is saying that the war was a unofficial conflict that many people thought was wrong and that will always be debated as a conflict that almost tore the nation apart. The title will relate to our studying of vietnam because it was a war that many people doubted as being good and that was criticized throughout the 60's.

History by Thuong Vuong-Riddick
What is the overall theme of Vuong-Riddick's poem?
The overall theme of the poem is death.

The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution … by Goldberg
What is the main thesis of the essay?
The main thesis of this essay is that the main reason that got America involved in the Vietnam war may have been a lie told by president Lyndon B. Johnson.
What was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution?
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed by congress and it gave President Johnson the power to defend U.S interests in Vietnam.
What evidence does the author give to support his thesis?
The author uses the interview of former head of the Senate Foreign relations Committee William Fulbright, in which he comes close to calling President Johnson a liar for what he said about the Gulf of Tonkin.
How does this link to the theme of the first reading, “A Dubious Crusade”?
This links to the title of the first reading because it shows that the "war" may have been fought based on a lie, and this makes the conflict even more doubtful asa good war.

The Korean War - 10 important facts

1. In June 1950, North Korean forces, which had been taken over by the Soviets and made communist, crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea, which was democratic and supported by the United States, and began to fight in what becomes known as the Korean war.
2. U.S president Harry Truman used this war to test his containment policy by appealing to the UN to stop the communists from taking over South Korea. Truman succeeded and 16 nations provided soldiers for a UN force.
3. The commander of the UN forces was General Douglass MacArthur, who was a hero of World War 2 in the pacific.
4. At the beginning of the war, UN forces had been pushed back deep into South Korea but General MacArthur turned the situation around by landing troops in a port city near the border of the two countries. This forced North Korea to retreat back behind the 38th parallel.
5. General MacArthur wanted to lead an offensive attack into North Korea, and was given approval by president Truman although they were both warned by China that if they did this, China would join the war.
6. As the UN forces started to move into North Korea, China joined the war as they had promised and began to attack UN troops until they were backed up all they back to South Korea.
7. After they were driven back, MacArthur wanted to blockade and bomb China but Truman said no. Despite this, MacArthur tried to gain support by criticizing the president and by trying to gain the support of Republican leaders. As a result of this, president Truman fired General MacArthur but when he went home he was treated like a hero.
8. The war grew unpopular over time and in July of 1951, truce talks began. These talks lasted over two years and were still going on when the 1952 presidential elections took place. Harry Truman decided not to run again and so the democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson and the republicans nominated world war 2 hero Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower won in a landslide by criticizing the unpopular war and gaining support through this.
9. After Eisenhower became president, he went to Korea to speed up truce talks and end the war. When he agreed to the truce with the North Koreans and Chinese, he warned the Chinese privately that he was ready to carry war into china and use nuclear weapons against them. A cease-fire was called in July of 1953. America's goal to contain communism was a success with Korea.
10. When the fighting was over, both North Korea and South Korea gained next to nothing and the border stayed very close to the 38th parallel.

Has MLK's Dream Been Realized - Labor

Many Minority groups including African Americans and Hispanics have made great strides to become more educated and obtain better jobs for themselves. The African American population has increased its employment by around 9 million people since 1980 and the Hispanic population has had a near 17 million employment increase since 1980. There has also been a high increase of women employment since the 1970s and Asians have also had a strong employment increase.

On the other side, however, there have been some big problems for several minority groups. Although groups such as African Americans and Hispanics have found there employment rates up, these groups average money in one week than both White and Asian Americans. A major contributor to this problem is the fact that Whites and Asians are working at higher quality and better paying jobs while African Americans and Hispanics are working at lower quality and lower paying jobs. An example of this is that the percentage of white physicians and surgeons is 23 percent higher than the number of African American physicians.

For MLK's dream to truly be fulfilled these major and minor problems in the labor system must be solved. These problems in one way or another affect every American in our nation there are some problems that everybody cal help solve while only a select few can solve another problem. If everybody in our nation got together to help the labor system, it would be fixed and beneficial to this country as a whole.

Why does the author feel that whites owe King the greatest debt?
The author feels that whites owe Dr. King the greatest debt because he cured them and this country of rascism. He showed the world how the world would work without country and without him, we might not be a free country now.

Was King "the right man at the right time"?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was without a doubt the right man at the right time for this situation. There aren't many people that could preach something that they get death threats for. His entire life was spent living around a church and when he became a minister he began to preach racial equality and freedom. If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had not led this movement, it probably would not have succeeded.

Would King be upset with the current use of his most often quoted line? Why or why not?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would not be upset with the use of his most quoted line because it showa that his unfluence has spread very far and that there are people who value the ideas that were extremely important to him. He would be proud of how people have changed and would support people who want to eliminate racial prejudice in other parts of the world.