The Continuing Implications of the Vietnam War

Even though nearly three decades have come and gone since the end of the Vietnam War, its effect on contemporary society signifies that the war is still fresh in many people’s memories. The consequences and memories of war still influence many aspects of both Asian and American culture. Politicians and all American citizens all still analyze and struggle with their memories of the first time in history where America was unable to defeat an enemy who they believed they were fighting a typical war with. A few concrete lessons emerged after an end to the fighting was finally achieved, however, the debate over the memory of the war is subjective, and will probably continue for as long as history is studied. Immediately after the conclusion of the war, the countries political leaders had already begun analyzing the consequences that would emerge and lessons that America could use for years to come.

Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter both reflected on the lessons of the war, encouraging leaders of future military endeavors to help and assist like-minded countries but to let them fight their own battles; and to not discard American values in the place of those of our adversaries. Gerald Ford had confidence that the lessons learned from the Vietnam experience will help in future military operations; and that as a freedom-touting country we carry an obligation to ourselves to protect that freedom. Mixed opinions existed twenty years ago, and probably still do today about whether America was right to participate in the Vietnam War. Divisiveness between U.S. citizens still exists when it comes to the memory of the war experience. Richard Nixon made a statement defending America’s use of military force in his 1985 book No More Vietnams. He wrote, “One lesson we must learn from Vietnam is that if we do not exercise power for the good, there are plenty of men like Ho Chi Minh, Le Duan, Khieu Samphan, and Pol Pot who will gladly exercise it for evil purposes.

Our armed intervention in the Vietnam War was not a brutal and immoral actionâÂ?¦That we mishandled it at times in no way taints the cause…we must recognize that greater evils exist than war.” (McMahon, 513) The lesson Richard Nixon wants readers to take from this is that if good intentions exist regardless of the outcome, American policy makers were correct in believing that our presence in Vietnam was necessary. Can any concrete lessons be gained from the Vietnam experience then when there are still so many different opinions and ideas about every facet of that issue? Gloria Emerson wrote, “To have been in a war does not mean you understand the memories of it.” (McMahon, 529) The consensus among Ford, Carter, and Nixon seems to be that the fact the war was a noble cause and that leaders had good intentions for it does not mean that it was well-handled. The concept of retaining power was also a general agreement among those politicians. The power that America has held in world affairs for nearly three-quarters of a century is not necessarily a static thing. A major lesson we ascertained is that the overwhelming amount of power which the U.S. is privileged to needs to be channeled towards good, and not mismanaged in such extreme ways that the risk is run of losing it.

There is still no such consensus among the American public about the Vietnam War. In his essay, “The Impact of Vietnam on America’s World Role” Paul Kennedy suggests that despite the differing positions that will always exist, Americans were forced to consider more what their own personal political priorities were, and think about what they were willing to sacrifice to obtain victory. It is easy to understand however why America was and is so divided on their memory of the war. In comparison to Vietnam, World War II was a simple war that had clearer objectives and much more support from American citizens. The people who experienced the victory of World War II and then the defeat in Vietnam were probably stunned at how that ever could have occurred. In Arnold Isaac’s essay “Competing Memories” he suggests that following World War II Americans thought their success in military undertakings was guaranteed.

The Vietnam War also influenced America’s role in world affairs, particularly in their efforts to make sure that the rest of the world would not react negatively. From an economic standpoint, the United States should have been victorious if victory was measured by the amount of firepower and atomic weapons we retained. Paul Kennedy wrote in his essay “The Impact of Vietnam on America’s World Role” that fear of world reaction prevented the U.S. from using atomic weapons against South Asia, in addition to the fact that they were never a direct threat to our country. Furthermore, America’s involvement in Vietnam lessened the interest in other areas such as Latin America, who we had the United States had previously assisted. Overall, the legacy of the war remains a mixed one. The disagreement about the memory of the war is indefinite since the war still evokes such a strong response from so many. However, there is no argument that the consequences for both America and Asia were enormous and that the lessons learned are vital to the future success of all foreign relations and military activities.