Vietnam

"Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room.  Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America -- not on the battlefields of Vietnam." (Marshall McLuhan)





Anti Vietnam War Rally at National Mall in Washington DC circa 1971 courtesy https://www.pinterest.com/pin/24980972904463946/.

It started with John F. Kennedy sending some troops into Southeast Asia.  It killed President Johnson's bid for a second term in office.  It led to a massacre at Kent State University.  It ended with President Ford's order to evacuate people via helicopter from the American Embassy roof at the Fall of Saigon.  The Vietnam War polarized the nation of America.  Some were deeply committed to the war, even laid down their lives for the cause. Others vehemently protested on college campuses.  Still others dodged the draft, even moving to Canada to avoid serving.  

Unlike the First World War and Second World War, the Vietnam War was televised (http://alinefromlinda.blogspot.ca/2012/04/girl-in-picture.html).  For the first time, the carnage was brought into people's living rooms via the evening news.  "Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room.  Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America -- not on the battlefields of Vietnam," explained Marshall McLuhan.  Young American men were coming home from Southeast Asia in body bags at an alarming rate.  It became increasingly hard for American leaders to justify the death toll.

As Ken Burns explains:  "The Vietnam War...took the lives of 58,000 Americans and as many as 3 million Vietnamese, polarized American society as nothing has since the Civil War [and] fundamentally challenged America's faith in our leaders, our government and our most respected institutions..."  Ken Burns series, due out next year, attempts to explain why the war happened and why it polarized America.

http://kenburns.com/films/vietnam/