Communications 121 The Effects of the Vietnam War
Protest on
Society
By Levi Combs
Edison Community College
The
Vietnam War had a profound effect on
American society. It
changed the way we
viewed our government, the media, and our Constitutional rights. Because of this
shift in perspective, the
country was torn apart and yet still came together in new and different
ways.
The Vietnam War's controversialist spurred a great many sources of
protest
against our government's use of power, how far we could stretch the
rights of
free expression, and primarily against the violence of the war itself. These changes in
the behavior of society
have left a lasting mark on our perception and the demand to be
informed since
that influential period of social turmoil.
The
war provided a controversial issue that
formed an uprising for a social structure just ready to be provoked. When the
American public became aware of the
situation at hand, through the recently unchained media, it was only a
matter
of time before there was some form of action or reaction. The media played
a key role in the
empowerment of people. With
the
addition of television journalism, a whole new depth was added to how
people
perceived what they were being told, because there was an added truth
to seeing
it. People
rising and uniting in
protest, and journalists bucking the government-imposed censorship
began
stretching the limits to how far we would take our rights to free
speech and
press.
“The
anti-war movement began mostly on college
campuses, as members of the leftist organization Students for a
Democratic
Society (SDS) began organizing “teach-ins” to express their opposition
to the
way in which it was being conducted. Though the vast majority of the
American
population still supported the administration policy in Vietnam, a
small but
outspoken liberal minority was making its voice heard by the end of
1965. This
minority included many students as well as prominent artists and
intellectuals
and members of the hippie movement, a growing number of young people
who
rejected authority and embraced the drug culture.” (Vietnam War
Protests)
The
war changed our fabric of society in a way
that can never be undone.
‘The
political activities of the youth movement
had enduring effects. Colleges became less authoritarian, ending dress
codes
and curfews and recruiting more minority students. Students also
contributed
mightily to the movement against the war in Vietnam. Both the
counterculture
and student activism, finally, fueled a backlash that blossomed in the
1970s
and 1980s. The civil rights movement, the women's movement, the youth
movement,
and the environmental movement changed people's lives. They also
created a
climate of rebellion, confrontation, and upheaval.” (United States
History)
After
the chaotic protest of this war it will
be hard for the government to have the backing of the American people.
Such
backing that we had in World War One and World War Two. Without the
backing of
our nation it will be very hard to win any conflict or war that we go
into.
On
the other hand the average American citizen
got a spine. It was the first time we stood up against the American
government
in what we believed in.
“As
the young burned their draft cards and
withdrew their allegiance to the United States the question remained,
were they
doing it for 'the world's oppressed' or themselves? Only those without
...wit,
background, or money; failed to escape service in Vietnam. Unlike
previous
wars, those serving in Vietnam came disproportionately from lower
classes.”
(Klar)
Since
then Americans have been standing up to
the government for what they believe is right. It has changed the way
we will
communicate forever.
For
example in October of 2011 we experienced
the Occupy Wall Street Movement that went from New York City to across
the
United States. They were protesting against corporate greed and
economic inequality.
“One
of the favorite messages of the protesters
is that almost 40% of US wealth is held in the hands of 1% of the
population,
who are taxed more lightly than the majority of Americans. Steinkamp
was
holding a sign saying "I am the 99%". And there is widespread anger
that ordinary people have born the brunt of the financial crisis with
dire job
losses and house repossessions.” (Walters)
We
can see that President Obama won a second
term in office because he wanted to increase the tax on the wealthiest
Americans. The Occupy Movement worked.
While
some editing may have been done for grammar or clarity, the choice of
topic and
discussion in this and other Communication 121 student Term Projects is
solely
the result of the research completed by the student.
Read
the County News
Online introduction for these papers here.
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