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From: Iansito
T1: iansito@att.net
Date: 12/5/99
Time: 12:11:02 PM
Remote Name: 12.78.104.234
At last, the class is privy to events in Vietnam without the dubious aid of documents. The oral history of one man solidified many of the concepts we have learned so far. True, orality is no less susceptable to interpretation and falsehood than the written word, but personal experience leaves little room for debate it seems in this case.
Chitty posed three major problems in the ongoing discussion of the Vietnam War. One was that the war is over. The second- it was a mistake or anamoly in the history of the US. This second one signifies one of the primary goals of this course, namely to interpret history in an entirely different manner and to contest widely held assumptions of our past and present. We have seen and read how the history of the US is inextricably tied to imperialism and military force. Ideological notions of democracy and freedom are the very thing the US has battled against since its beginnings. Chitty even stresses this problem in his realization of why the US was really in Vietnam. He stated that he was forever changed by the war. This, however, is not merely the perceptual, mental shift of one man. It is, more importantly, the ideological shift and perception of history which became altered for Chitty. He is unable to view events in the same light and with the same language that is fed to the general public through the mass media. He has turned his back on the easily given reasons for US actions abroad and at home. This change in attitude and perception is perhaps the most important lesson one can learn from the Vietnam War and this class. What Chitty personalized was the individual's relationship to a cold war paradigm as a way of understanding the world to an anti-imperialist view. His experience was, unfortunately, a result of war. In contrast, ours is a result of a class which meets twice a week. Take your pick!
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