Examining the concept of evil in the context of the Vietnam War
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Examining the concept of evil in the context of the Vietnam War
In the 19th Century - an era of European empires - France colonised what used to be known as Indochina. During the first half of the twentieth century Ho Chi Minh travelled the world advocating the removal of French colonial powers from his country. He didn't get very far. During the Second World War France withdrew from Indochina but after the defeat of the Nazis Charles De Gaulle (the new French leader) was keen to re-colonise, and so they did.
Ho Chi Minh and his colleagues petitioned the US to help persuade the French to leave. Being a country that had itself thrown off (British) imperialism in a war for Independence, it might be expected that the US would be sympathetic to this cause, and in principle they were. But things were complicated by the fact that Ho Chi Minh and and his colleagues found support against colonial rule by the French from communist China and the Soviet Union. Despite being a Vietnamese nationalist first and a communist second, Ho Chi Minh was remembered more for the latter. After the Korean War the US government was fearful of what they called "the domino effect" - small countries falling to communism one after another. They regarded French colonialism as the lesser of two evils and therefore backed the French.
Then through a succesion of US administrations, from Eisenhower to Nixon, the war escalated in ways that I won't detail here in the OP because it's getting too long and because I couldn't do it from memory and don't have time to look it up.
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It is my proposition that "evil" - deliberate cruelty for purely selfish aims - is much less prevalent than some people might think. If you examine in detail the many, many steps, over many decades, that led to (in this example) the war in Vietnam, with all of its pain and death and all the many actors from all over the world stage - I think you find that the main cause of tragedy is simply lack of hindsight. People do what they believe is the right thing to do at the time when they do it, with the information available to them.
There are, of course, exceptions. In this example, I think a notable one is Nixon deliberately secretly scuppering Paris peace talks to damage the chances of LBJ's vice president winning the 1968 election. That appears to be pretty close to evil - an act which deliberately prolonged the war purely to gain personal power. (It worked.) But generally it's just tragedy.
Thoughts?
- ThomasHobbes
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Re: Examining the concept of evil in the context of the Vietnam War
When Ho Chi Minh declared independence from French rule following the victory at Dien Bien Phu, he used these words;Steve3007 wrote: ↑August 1st, 2018, 6:16 am A brief summary of some of the history as I understand it:
In the 19th Century - an era of European empires - France colonised what used to be known as Indochina. During the first half of the twentieth century Ho Chi Minh travelled the world advocating the removal of French colonial powers from his country. He didn't get very far. During the Second World War France withdrew from Indochina but after the defeat of the Nazis Charles De Gaulle (the new French leader) was keen to re-colonise, and so they did.
Ho Chi Minh and his colleagues petitioned the US to help persuade the French to leave. Being a country that had itself thrown off (British) imperialism in a war for Independence, it might be expected that the US would be sympathetic to this cause, and in principle they were. But things were complicated by the fact that Ho Chi Minh and and his colleagues found support against colonial rule by the French from communist China and the Soviet Union. Despite being a Vietnamese nationalist first and a communist second, Ho Chi Minh was remembered more for the latter. After the Korean War the US government was fearful of what they called "the domino effect" - small countries falling to communism one after another. They regarded French colonialism as the lesser of two evils and therefore backed the French.
Then through a succesion of US administrations, from Eisenhower to Nixon, the war escalated in ways that I won't detail here in the OP because it's getting too long and because I couldn't do it from memory and don't have time to look it up.
---
It is my proposition that "evil" - deliberate cruelty for purely selfish aims - is much less prevalent than some people might think. If you examine in detail the many, many steps, over many decades, that led to (in this example) the war in Vietnam, with all of its pain and death and all the many actors from all over the world stage - I think you find that the main cause of tragedy is simply lack of hindsight. People do what they believe is the right thing to do at the time when they do it, with the information available to them.
There are, of course, exceptions. In this example, I think a notable one is Nixon deliberately secretly scuppering Paris peace talks to damage the chances of LBJ's vice president winning the 1968 election. That appears to be pretty close to evil - an act which deliberately prolonged the war purely to gain personal power. (It worked.) But generally it's just tragedy.
Thoughts?
All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
This immortal statement was made in the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in 1776. In a broader sense, this means: All the peoples on the earth are equal from birth, all the peoples have a right to live, to be happy and free.
The Declaration of the French Revolution made in 1791 on the Rights of Man and the Citizen also states: “All men are born free and with equal rights, and must always remain free and have equal rights.”
Those are undeniable truths.
Nevertheless, for more than eighty years, the French imperialists, abusing the standard of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, have violated our Fatherland and oppressed our fellow-citizens. They have acted contrary to the ideals of humanity and justice...."
That time, as I understand it, he had no yet had help from Russia or China, and expected the USA to support his cause.
Blind racism, stupidity and the urge to cash in on yet another war, led the US to the path of supporting the Catholic dictatorship of South Vietnam.
- Ser10Rec1pr0
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Re: Examining the concept of evil in the context of the Vietnam War
The French did not exactly withdraw from Indochina during WWII: the Japanese occupied it--& most of E. Asia--but permitted the French to govern on orders from Vichy. Ho formed his Viet Minh to fight Japanese occupiers, w/ a subsidy from the USA.
I have only read recently--past 10 years--that some of the premier U.S. military heroes of WWII & Korea--Gavin, Ridgway, Shoup--eschewed the "domino theory" & realized that there were different kinds of communism; especially a nationalist communism, of which Tito in Yugoslavia & Ho Chi Minh in Indochina were prime examples.
- ThomasHobbes
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Re: Examining the concept of evil in the context of the Vietnam War
Having travelled in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia the idea of dominoes is absurd.Ser10Rec1pr0 wrote: ↑September 8th, 2018, 12:31 am I have only read recently--past 10 years--that some of the premier U.S. military heroes of WWII & Korea--Gavin, Ridgway, Shoup--eschewed the "domino theory" & realized that there were different kinds of communism; especially a nationalist communism, of which Tito in Yugoslavia & Ho Chi Minh in Indochina were prime examples.
People make of communism what they want. And to particular limits what people shall accept limits any particular political ideology.
One has only to reflect upon the various versions of so-called "democracy"; poor in the the US to more developed, mature and socially sensitive in Scandinavian countries.
- Burning ghost
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Re: Examining the concept of evil in the context of the Vietnam War
“Evil”? Don’t really understand what the OP means and who is being called evil and for what reasons?
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