Vietnam and Concentration Camps Dec. 8

Bellwrite #40:
1) The Allegory of the Olive Tree talks about the fulfilling of the Lord's covenants with the House of Israel through gathering. How does the story of the Cold War relate to the gathering of Israel?
2) How does the Cold War relate to FACE principles #2 and #7?

Today we reviewed the main causes and outcomes of the Vietnam War. We discussed how Vietnam was a French colony prior to WWII. During the war, when France surrendered to Germany, it lost control of its colonies and Japan took over in Vietnam. However, when Japan lost WWII and France tried to reassert control in Vietnam, many Vietnamese rebelled. They were ready for self-rule (nationalism). During the ensuing war between Vietnam and France, Vietnam ended up split with the northern half governed from its capital in Hanoi by a communist/nationalist government led by Ho Chi Minh and the southern half governed from its capital in Saigon by a government favored by western nations. The US wasn't so much in favor of the Southern government as it was opposed to the spread of communism from the North. Thus from the outset, Americans misunderstood the real motive of the Vietnamese in the war: to gain independence (not, as they supposed, to spread communism).

The war dragged on for 20 years, due in large part to the nature of the guerilla warfare waged by the Vietcong (guerilla army in the South which supported Ho Chi Minh's cause). Meanwhile, Americans lost faith in their government and their cause. The counterculture movement in America questioned almost all traditional American values and institutions. The war became more and more unpopular as news revealed that American soldiers were committing atrocities and the U.S. government had lied to its citizens (Pentagon Papers). The draft was also a concern to Americans who felt it was unjust that 18 year-olds could be drafted but couldn't even vote (by the way, this was when the voting age was changed). When American troops withdrew from Vietnam, the North invaded the South, uniting the country under a communist government. Neighboring Cambodia and Laos were plunged into chaos, including acts of genocide. Vietnam is still communist today, though reforms have led it in recent years to integrate into the world economy and form diplomatic relations with most countries.

Why did the U.S. fight such an expensive war to try to stop communism in such a small country? In part, this is due to the Domino Theory--the idea that if one nation in the vulnerable Southeast Asia were to fall to communism, it would take the others down with it. For these reasons, Vietnam is considered a proxy war through which the superpowers could indirectly combat each other's ideologies of communism and capitalism/democracy.

We read together from Man's Search for Meaning. We discussed for comprehension, as well as studying the following vocabulary words (including studying their Greek/Latin roots):
apathy
objectivity/subjectivity
mortification

Homework:
No new homework. The Response-to-Suffering Log is due Thursday (Extended deadline was granted due to a student request for more time to make the assignment meaningful. This decision was announced Friday. Apologies to students who did not get the message.)