Critical Review of a Book of OBrien - Essay Example

Book review It was no chain of reasons or ideas, no choice or decision that propelled American into war. It was a physical and intellectual standoff and O’Brien states that he did not have the energy to see it until the finish line or end. These issues are well entrenched in O’Brien’s book, if I die in a combat Zone, Box me up and ship me Home. This book explains the grueling tour and role of the American soldiers in the Vietnam War in that in the entire book, the author is seen struggling with his ethical and moral beliefs while engaging in a war or conflict he believes is not justified and unethical (O’Brien 26). In the footsteps of an international pacifist network that had protested nuclear armament since the 1950s, the anti­war movement was also able to gather a worldwide following of protesters by the late 1960s, all of whom had one thing in common—their opposition to the Vietnam War. The international aspect of this opposition and its transnationalism can attribute to a collective zeitgeist of the time. Many people in America did not want the U.S to engage in another deadly war. The book clearly shows how the American army during the Vietnam war failed to offer moral counsel to young soldiers who were traumatized the events of the war. Further, the U.S soldiers believed that the war was unjust and most of them were afraid to die. Instead, the U.S army I only concerned about bringing men to the battlefield, men who do not question who to shoot or why they have to shoot, nor require to comprehend the effects it may cause on their mental and physical health. This is an example where O’Brien is engaged in the war to struggle against the U.S involvement in the war as he sees his friends and other soldiers die. Despite the fact that he feels the power of revenge to his enemies, he feels that killing innocent people and villagers is morally or ethically wrong (O’Brien 34). The author also explores what it means to be courageous during training and his role in Vietnam as soldier. In his own definition, he believed that courage was bravery, temperance, and wisdom. American soldiers associated their courage to manliness if they were not wise and made silly mistakes and cowardly behaviors during the battle. American soldiers opted to make courageous acts in order to express their manliness. From the book, it is clear that many American soldiers realized that they were not brave enough to withstand their moral or ethical beliefs, losing their respect for their relatives, family seemed to outweigh their convictions, and the soldiers did not want to fail anybody. Peace and antiwar movements extract at least some set of intricate phenomena with varying sources, constituencies, goals, and principles. Some of them have roots in the ancient and medieval world. Contemporary advocacy for peace adapted and inherited the concept of just war and absolute pacifism as propagated by religious non-resistance. In addition, peace and antiwar movements base their argument from the concept of political economy. The antiwar movement against U.S involvement in war with Vietnam began in 1950s and gained its momentum in 1960s up to 1970s. It was the most significant movement of its type in the history of U.S. The U.S got involved in the Vietnam War in 1950 when Harry Truman the then President of the U.S began to underwrite the costs of France’s war against the Vietnam. When the Vietnam War started, most Americans believed that defending South Vietnam from communism was a noble and brilliant idea for their national interest. Communism was posing a threat to democracy around the world by preaching anarchy and authoritarian ideas. During the course of the war, many Americans were concerned about the escalating war costs and rising number of casualties. This led to emergence of anti-war movement that grew into in a strong force in opposing the Vietnam War while pressuring America leaders to withdraw from the war. Together with the civil rights movements of the 1960s, the antiwar movements in the United States of America comprised of a number of independent interests allied and contesting each on different matters but united in the opposition of the Vietnam War. Anti-war movements arose in the United States with the aim of pressuring the federal government to reconsider its war commitment in Vietnam. Other ideas that led to the rise of the movements included US antiwar movement that consisted of a number of independent interests, often only vaguely allied and contesting each other on many issues, united only in opposition to the Vietnam War, Economic Interests, and Cultural and political protest had become inextricably intertwined within the movement's vanguard. Despite the fact that they all had one goal, the extent to which these movements influenced the Vietnam War was different. For instance, a movement like student peace Union (SPU) emerged in 1959 in colleges across America. The Student Peace Union was not radical but rather liberal. SPU remained a formidable force in the fight against Vietnam when Joseph McCarthy called for dissolution of socialist and communist movements on college campuses in 1950s. Despite the fact that it faded when colleges were closed and students went, other movements developed in that they captured the interest of all major decision makers and their advisors in the government. In order to demonstrate how antiwar movements were well organized, it is vital to note that the teach-ins started at the University of Michigan in 1965 and spread to other college campuses such as Wisconsin. This protests finally captured public attention. In addition, the protests and demonstrations were form of trying to go beyond words, reason and research and exert pressure to those government officials who were involved in the conducting the policy. Within the government of the United States, some government official perceived these teach-ins as significant developments that might down the intensification in Vietnam. Antiwar continued with their activities and scattered the teach-ins and they became a big problem for President Johnson when the organizers or activists joined in an unofficial movement called the inter-University Committee for Public hearing on Vietnam affairs. Via nationwide teach-ins, the antiwar movements made many officials to resign as they saw the need of reconsidering U.S commitment in Vietnam. By 1965, after the end of the Gulf of Tonkin Revolution, the Student for democratic society started to organize protest rallies against Vietnam War and demanded that the government withdraw its troops from Vietnam. It is significant to note that Student for Democratic society movement focused mainly on domestic affairs, it was not fully an anti-war movement, but it aimed to influence the American government to create a great society by alienating itself from wars abroad. Anti-war movements gained momentum in American society from 1965 to 1968 when United States started bombing Japan. During the war in Vietnam, American soldiers were faced with difficult decisions since they were forced to kill people in order to survive. For instance, the soldiers revenged by killing civilians, which they knew and believed it was morally wrong. Work Cited O’Brien, Tim. If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box me up and Ship me Home. New York: Broadway, 1999. Print. Read More