The Vietnam War is among the most divisive events in America. America had the choice of supporting the Vietnamese to get their independence or to remain neutral in the troublesome event. However, the United States chose to get involved in the war. Two well-known people in the history of America, former president Lyndon B. Johnson and the leader of the main veteran organization John Kerry, show different takes on the involvement in the Vietnam War through their speeches.
Former president of the United States, President Lyndon B. Johnson, gave a renunciation speech on Vietnam War in the year 1965. This is among the most memorable speeches in the history of the United States. In his speech, he assured the citizens that there would be peace in Southern Asia someday. The peace would come because Southern Asians wanted it. Peace would also come because of the sons of Americans who were sent to help in securing peace in Vietnam. He pointed out that the war in Vietnam had not been easy. For nearly five years, he took the responsibility of being the Commander in Chief ( Willbanks, 2013 ) . The president points out that the heart of America’s involvement in the war is to the security of America. The past three administrations of the United States at that time has been to help the nations of Southern Asia to become independent and be able to stand alone in the world community while at peace with all other nations and peace with themselves.
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The president believed that the restoration of peace in Asia was near to reality. He believed that the men sent to fight for Americans in the war were helping the world to avoid more damaging wars in the future. He was hopeful that the peace would come someday and the fighters would come back home safely. He concludes the speech by saying that the ultimate strength of the country lies in the unity of the people rather than on the boundless wealth or the powerful weapons, or the infinite resources.
Lyndon B. Johnson hopes to persuade his audience by making them believes that the American involvement in the war was for a good course. He makes references to the past three administrations to justify that what was going on at the moment was not a new thing and focused on the ultimate outcome which is to restore peace in Vietnam. He convinces his audience that America was doing the right thing when he persuades them that the actions that his government took in the Vietnam War would bring peace in America and to the whole world.
The use of polite language is applied to persuade the audience. The president chooses his words and ensures that what he utters sounds polite to the audience. He makes them believe that the fight is for a good cause and worth supporting. The tone of his speech is optimistic. The speaker encourages the audience that all is not lost and that they should continue giving support to protect America, Vietnam, and the world as a whole from future war such as this one. His speech is based on speculations rather than facts.
John Kerry was a leader of the main veterans’ organization . However, he opposed the continuation of the Vietnam War. He believed that he represented a large number of veterans who would probably have the same kind of testimony if given a chance to speak. He points out that many honourably discharged veterans and highly decorated veterans made a testimony to the war crimes that happened in Southeast Asia. The crimes that were committed in Vietnam were on a daily basis, and the officers were fully aware of them at all levels of command. He reports that stories of cut of heads, rape, cut off limbs , razed villages, randomly shot citizens, and poisoned food stocks among other evil deeds were told by the officers who had committed them ( Chapman & Ciment, 2015) . The soldiers had ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam. This was in addition to the normal ravage of the war done by bombs.
John Kerry felt the need to speak out of what went down in Vietnam. In as much as they could come back to the country celebrating victory and keeping quiet of the crimes that were committed in the war, John Kerry saw it necessary to speak up about the crimes that were committed. According to him, nothing that happened in South Vietnam could be a threat to the United States. He felt that the country was torn apart by the kind of hypocrisy that justified the loss of a single American life in Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia.
Most of the people in Vietnam at that time could not differentiate between democracy and communism. With the foreign presence of the United States, the Vietnamese wanted to do away with the war and that America should leave them in peace. This made them side with whichever military was present at the time. They worked in rice paddies where their wish was that the country should go back to normal. Some American men were dying in the rice paddies while seeking support from the allies ( Willbanks, 2013 ) . He concludes that if an actual threat faces America, he will be among the first people to defend his country. However, the Vietnam War is not a threat to the United States.
John Kerry’s speech has more of a pessimistic tone. He argues based on observations and evidence rather than speculations. This does not intend to persuade the audience to listen. However, he mentions that his speech is to make Americans aware of what happened. The motivational factor for a veteran to speak like Kerry can be guilt. This is because people fear to live with the knowledge of doing the wrong thing. Kerry hoped to let Americans know what went down because he thought they deserved to know the truth.
The two speeches oppose each other. President Lyndon B. Johnson supports the involvement of America in the Vietnam War and sees the war as a threat to the United States that must be dealt with . I do not agree with this stand because the involvement caused more damage than good to America. John Kerry, on the other hand, opposed the involvement and stated how damaging it was to Vietnamese. Since he was directly involved in the war, I believe that his accounts are true and therefore stand by his arguments.
References
Chapman, R., & Ciment, J. (2015). Culture Wars: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints and Voices . Routledge.
Willbanks, J. H. (Ed.). (2013). Vietnam War: the essential reference guide . ABC-CLIO.
