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Journal pudge's Journal: Vietnam Never Happened 53

Journal by pudge

Every day a new story comes out damning Bush's or Kerry's record during the Vietnam War.

I don't know about you, but I just couldn't care less about any of it. Both sides are fully capable both of lying about themselves and their opponents, and it was before I was born, and none of it has any significant bearing on what is going on in the world today.

So, to save my sanity, as far as I am concerned -- for the time being -- the Vietnam War never happened.

Please join me in this crusade to be amnesiacs. We could temporarily change the name to Southeast Asia War Memorial, and pretend it is about the Korean War. We can do this, if we have the collective will!

This discussion was created by pudge (3605) for no Foes, but now has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

Vietnam Never Happened More

Vietnam Never Happened

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  • Its hard to pretend on that suggested topic when you have relatives (many) serving in Armed Forces during that era.
    • I didn't say it would be easy!
    • My father was there: 2 tours, infantry, wounded, purple heart (nice scars too). It's not part of his daily life now. He doesn't throw it in people's faces, doesn't wallow in it, and I have to ask to get him to talk about it at all.

      It was 30 years ago. He moved on. He grew up. I wish all these others would too.

      Reminds me of one of my favorite Simpsons moments:

      Agnes, accusing:

      You're a coward Seymour!
      Seymour, protesting: Mother! I was in Vietnam!
      Agnes, cynically: And you're still bitching about it!

  • After all, I've yet to meet one that remembers Reagan's nuclear attack on Libya- and Vietnam ended 13 years before that.

  • Huh? (Score:2)

    by kikta ( 200092 ) *
    Please join me in this crusade to be amnesiacs.

    Be what? Who are you?
  • Since Putin has banned teaching of the purges in school's (or anything else that would risk removing a childs allegiance), why can't we pretend a silly little war never happened? right? :-)


    • It's just temporary. Maybe until after the campaign is over. Maybe we will renew the amnesia every couple of years, from June through the first Tuesday of November.
      • Temporarily? It's a deal! The funny thing is the Dems are jumping up and down all over Bush for joining the Air National Guard, but forgetting that Clinton was actually drafted, and ran to Canada as fast as his micro-bus could take him.
      • ps, go take a look at my latest journals, I'd like your input. Particularly about the facts (or not facts) listed, and whether they are exaggerations or whatever.


        Politics is a realtively new interest of mine (because of Bush) and so I'm not up to date yet. I'm working on it though.

      • Please tell me we're not going to have to go over Vietnam again every four years?

        In 1996, when I voted for the first time as I turned 18, I remember saying, "Ross Perot is going to run every election until I die. He'll outlive me just to do it, I swear." I was glad to be wrong on that, and I hope Vietnam as a relevant-to-the-Presidency issue goes the same way.

        • Please tell me we're not going to have to go over Vietnam again every four years?

          I certainly hope not. There came a year when the first President born in the 20th century was elected (JFK, beating Nixon by a negligible margin after a highly questionable election), presumably we'll soon get an election returning the first president too young to have been involved.

          In 1996, when I voted for the first time as I turned 18, I remember saying, "Ross Perot is going to run every election until I die. He'll outli

  • What!? (Score:2)

    by GypC ( 7592 )

    We could temporarily change the name to Southeast Asia War Memorial, and pretend it is about the Korean War.

    When did they move Korea to southeast Asia!?

    Why am I always the last person to hear about these things?

    • It's more south than north!

      I thought about that, but calling it East Asia was just too broad. But you called me out!
  • "none of it has any significant bearing on what is going on in the world today"

    Really?

    You know, in 92 and 96, the Republicans kept saying, over and over, that character was an issue. How the candidates behaved when their country asked them to become citizen-soldiers has no bearing on their character? Whether they have told the truth about it in recent years tells us nothing about character?

    • You know, in 92 and 96, the Republicans kept saying, over and over, that character was an issue. How the candidates behaved when their country asked them to become citizen-soldiers has no bearing on their character? Whether they have told the truth about it in recent years tells us nothing about character?

      And when they said it in 92 and 96, I didn't think what Clinton did in the 60s mattered. I thought what he did in the 80s and 90s mattered. If you wanna talk about the last 10-15 years, fine.
      • I didn't think what Clinton did in the 60s mattered. It only really matters (for any candidate) when it is: a) criminal b) brought up repeatedly by the candidate as a campaign foundation c) it is lied about (then the integrity is at question).
  • Don't forget the lessons of history. Those who do, are condemed to repeat them. To me the lessons of Viet-Nam are many.

    Communists are strong, and their perserverance is not to be taken lightly. They are out to save the world from the Capitalists.

    Don't try to "contain" problems, instead press until you have a decisive victory.

    From George Orwell: "Whoever controls the image and information of the past determines what and how future generations will think; whoever controls the information and images of the

    • Communisim is dead (at least the kind we spent 1917-1989 fighting).

      The USSR collapsed and the Chinese are gung-ho capitalists now.
      • I'm still holding my breath...

        The Russians are pretty unhappy with their gangsta-capitalism. Most live in third-world poverty. I expect to see some form of communism return to the ol' USSR.

        The Communist party still runs China. Where it's capitalism as a tool of communism. But I do think the Chinese are evolving from communism to capitalism in the proper manner.

        • As I said the kind of communism we fought for 72 years is dead.

          None of the remaining communists really can be said to have much in the way of a global movement. The closest I can think of is Castro backing Chavez in Venuzuela. Even then its a pretty lukwarm relationship.

          The Chinese aren't interested in exporting revolution nor are any of the remaining comminists in the former USSR. Even if the communist party comes back into power in Russia I doubt it will necessarily be any more hostile to the US or EU t
          • Well, I agree, but I don't think we should take it for granted. Things change.

            I also agree the primary threat is terrorism, but I also believe that long-term, the best way to fight terrorism is to change the Middle East to be more prosperous and more democratic. Otherwise, we are playing whack-a-mole for the next 50 or 100 years.

  • I told someone just this morning, when we were discussing history, that the only part of history that does not interest me is the Vietnam war. It may interest me again after the election. Right now, it does not.

    Personally this thing happened before I was born. I DON'T CARE. I didn't care then, and I sure don't care now. People died, and that's always horrible. But as for who did what at the time, it makes me no difference.

    What war?

  • I did no tour in Vietnam. I have no evidence that the world existed before I was 3 or 4.

    I deny history before my birth.

    In fact, perhaps time ran backwards before I was born. I have no proof.

    In fact, I think I might be Descartes........

    It's almost as if Kerry et al are fighting the arguments of years ago against Clinton.

    Pudge for King! (Of the area sometimes know as Southeast-But-More-East Asia)
  • Please join me in this crusade to be amnesiacs.

    Can we please add Watergate to the list of things that never happened?!

    If Watergate never happened, we need no longer have too many Bernstein/Woodward-wannabes running around trying to reveal 'smoking guns' in every public statement of every public official. (Sadly, the wannabes always seem to forget that the reason Bernstein/Woodward were able to reveal their 'smoking gun' was their meticulous and time-consuming checking and double-checking and then checkin
    • I don't mind skepticism: the problem is that the people (us) don't treat what we hear from the news media with the same skepticism that they (the news media) treat everyone else.
      • Ah, but why do we doubt the media less than we doubt just about everybody else save possibly the Dalai Lama and Bob Geldof?

        I would/could argue that this is a consequence of Watergate.

        The only thing people seem to remember of Watergate is that President Nixon lied and Bernstein/Woodward didn't. Ergo: politicians lie, the media doesn't. Therefore: if the media reports that person X told fibs while person X claims to have told the truth, then we believe the reporting in the media, especially if person X is a
    • Watergate never happened, we would no longer have to assume that everyone holding public office lies all the time.

      I assume that lying all the time is part of the job description of any public office holder. If a public official says the sky is blue I go outside to check for myself.

      I consider Government to be a necessary evil that is not to be trusted no matter who is running it.

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