Discuss the below:
Historical Thinking Essay: The Ghosts of Vietnam
An important theme in our course is to learn more about the many ways in which every day Americans have participated in democracy. This asks you to think about the role that average Americans play in the two longest wars in American history-consider the relationship between the Vietnam War (1965-1975) and the current wars on terrorism (2001-present).
STEP 1: READ Roark, et al. The American Promise
STEP 2: READ and/or WATCH the following:
Role of the United States in the Vietnam War (Wikipedia)
"Why Vietnam?" Department of Defense film (1965)
"Why We are in Vietnam" Speech by President Johnson (April 1965)
"Dem Moulton Warns ISIS Fight Could Lead to Another Vietnam" (MSNBC)
McCain, "ISIS Fight Becoming Another Vietnam" (Military Times, Apr 5 2016)
Andrew Bacevich, "How Fighting Isis is Like Vietnam" (TIME Apr 8, 2016)
"We are Not Heading toward Another Vietnam in Syria" (WGBH, Apr 26, 2016)
STEP 3: THINK ABOUT IT.
STEP 4: After having analyzed the sources, compare and contrast the Vietnam Wars to the current wars on terrorism by responding to the following set of questions:
Was the Vietnam War winnable? If not, why did the United States make such a major commitment?
How is the Vietnam War similar to the war against terrorism?
How do the two conflicts differ?
Finally, what role do average American citizens play in both wars?