The Consequences of Vietnam War on the American Society Term Paper

The Consequences of Vietnam War on the American Society - Term Paper Example The most devastating effect on the society was felt by the Vietnamese veterans. They were so outraged by the injustice of the war that they formed the organization â€Å"Vietnam Veterans against the War†. The organization grew tremendously to nearly 30,000 members from veterans in the U.S as well as officers on duty in Vietnam. In the Foreword of the book Telltale Hearts, Ambrose opines that all American wars have instigated some kind of uprising against the war but the movement against Vietnam War was by far the biggest, the most influential and ironically, the least effective too (Garfunkel, 1997). The returning veterans also experienced various health problems due to the use of chemicals and herbicides in the war. Many of the veterans returned home only to live the rest of their lives in fear of developing diseases from the chemicals and passing it down to their children. Others were now addicted to drugs such as heroin and marijuana which increased the demand of heroin in the U.S market. According to a study conducted by the Pentagon in 1970s, 35% of GIs had tried marijuana while the rate of this occurrence increased gradually because of the falling morale and changing culture (Kuzmarov, 2009). Hence, drug abuse grew in the American society as a result of the Vietnam War. The veterans of the war also suffered a lot of disgrace. They were severely stereotyped and were claimed unfit to readjust into society due to the gory, inhumane nature of the Vietnam War and hence, were ostracized for their participation in the war. Even though these veterans served their country just like any other, they were not given the same respect or appreciation. The writer of the book The Vietnam War rightly says that if the people of a nation are against a certain governmental policy, it is seldom to succeed and even if it does, the impact is temporary and rightly so (Huynh & Werner, 1993). The Vietnam veteran’s memorial was erected primarily to return the honor and respect the troops deserved despite the political reasons of the war. It was built seven years after the war which was a bit too late to commemorate the sacrifices of the soldiers. Despite the concern of POVs, people were less concerned about the internal matters of U.S and more about the government’s interest in Vietnam, or the foreign policy. Eventually the society began to see the war differently and began to distrust the U.S government. Initially it was the poor people who sacrificed. It was their sons who were sent to war. Eventually the lives of the middle and upper classes started getting effected too. This is when the hue and cry against the war actually started (Huynh & Werner, 1993). The military also became extremely unpopular in the eyes of the American people. The war did not affect U.S position as the super power because the country was not physically hit. However, it did bring about a change in the internal politics of the country. The early 1970s witnessed â €Å"Momentous changes† in the US because of the war. Previously, the congress was flexible with the formulation of the foreign policy by the executive and decided to ignore the latter’s manipulation. However, around this time, this practice was coming to an end (Brown, 1991). These changes proved to bring about a

Art and psychoanalysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art and psychoanalysis - Essay Example Upon hearing about the bombing of Guernica, Picasso started sketching a mural. â€Å"He drew screaming women and children, perhaps inspired by his fear that harm might come to his own baby daughter. He seemed haunted by the many faces of anguish.†1 Although the woman holding a wounded child is in Guernica, she is also in many other works of Picasso. This woman is of different color and shape, but can be identified throughout Picasso’s other works. One source reports: Characters that typically appear in these paintings reappear in Picassos paintings as well. Theres usually quite clearly a suffering woman, someone whos screaming, a woman with a child whos been injured, or may even be dead.2 As suggested above, maybe Picasso was thinking of his daughter. However if this is true, why did Picasso distort the images? The distorted images seem to speak of an underlying emotion in his subconscious. It must be noted that Picasso had an art background. His father was a painter as well. Picasso could have drawn and painted in more realistic terms. One source reports, "Picasso was very properly trained in the grand tradition of painting, allegorical painting about universal themes: the horrors of war, the massacres of the innocents.†3 Picasso could have used photos from Guernica to make a more realistic picture. Instead â€Å"Picasso was able to take that traditional academic motif and actually rework it and make it relevant again to this particular time and this particular circumstance, I think is really one of his great achievements in this painting."4 Picasso did not make a realistic picture due to a deep unconscious need inside. Picasso had a subliminal problem that was deeply rooted in his psyche. It might be the death of his sister. Picasso’s mother might have shut down with grief after the death of her daughter. This could have made Picasso have deeply buried animosity toward his mother for the