U.S. citizens are being portrayed as heartless in the current war in Iraq. Scapegoating has always been the cause of problems throughout every war era, but it seems to be effecting the U.S. more than ever during this current war. The advances taken to promote the rights of Iraqi citizens are being portrayed as if they are only to shine the limelight on Americans.
During the Vietnam War era the citizens were the ones who fought to bring the troops home, which is also occurring now. It is not to diminish the poor treatment by foreign governments or the needs of the Vietnamese or Iraqi people, it is soley to protect the American citizens, the American men and women that willingly fight for the rights of others. Whether or not each person supports the war, most American citizens support the troops and their causes for fighting. Unfortunately, because of poor reflection by the media in America and in other nations, most countries, as well as American citizens, look down upon the reasoning behind the current war.
During the Vietnam War it was the American government against its own people because of the rising death toll and the unfulfilled promises that the government could not keep. Several times President Richard M. Nixon made reference to a withdrawal, but was never steadfast about it, giving many Americans a sense of false hope. He was also quoted stating, “No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now,” but it is a heated subject because in all wars there are factors that people will misinterpret because of the limited amount of facts released by the government (Nixon 1985). Now, there are more laws requiring the release of pertinent information, where as during Vietnam, the government kept an extremely large amount of information classified because there were fewer ways for the public to investigate and uncover confidential documents or information.
When other nations and sometimes the U.S.’s own citizens view the motives of the government uncanny and preposterous, it reflects back on the U.S. poorly. Whether the information is released immediately or after it does not pose a threat, the citizens of the U.S. deserve to know the happenings and goings on that reflect back on them. The citizens deserve to be heard whether or not the government would like to be open with them. The U.S. government spends millions of dollars overseas, perfecting other nations, but they are letting their own nation deteriorate. It is time for the U.S. to step back and allow the world to develop on its own without intervening.
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