Self-Awareness in the Sixties

To me, this document represented the notions of imperialism, patriotism, and a tinge of the hysteria of the Red Scare. The words of these citizens reflected the more conservative side of society at the time, who desired a stalwart stance regarding foreign forces; in short, they wanted to maintain the appearance of the strongest country in the world. However, though that idea seemingly remains true, our position in the war was not reflective of that. My research into the many letters foreshadowed this outcome clearly – those voices in this letter are the minority. The passion of the people was instrumental in the conclusive treaty.

But it was not always thus. During the start of the war (the war against Communism, not Vietnam in particular) people possessed a great fervor against like these people; had the letter been a decade prior, the letters sent to Harold T. “Bizz” Johnson would have likely been more similar to this one. Upon further investigation, it was clear that people were very afraid of this ambiguous force that they were told threatened their intrinsic way of life. They did not know what it was – they merely had the understanding that it was different and therefore evil. Especially after the events of World War II, in which the United States gained a sense of entitlement as the caretakers of the world did any other perspective seem flawed and inefficient. The people trusted their government, and they trusted the ideals that their country stood for; however, though some people stayed loyal to their nation’s perceived stature, the 1960’s shook that notion, and letters like the one above would become the minority in the sea of new consciousness.

The documentary, The Sixties: The Years that Shaped a Generation, helped to shed light on why such a shift occurred. The movements of Civil Rights and free love marked the pivotal moments of this transition; people had begun this march towards acceptance. The citizens of the United States were now a very proud people, who felt they possessed the strongest sense of right and wrong. This notion would galvanize the people in rebellion to the war, which they felt reneged this right and did not reflect their country’s true ambition – or more so that it did reflect their country’s ambition, and they were in full disapproval of this misplaced charisma. The war against Communism began knowingly to the public, but Vietnam, to the masses, was a different concept entirely. Some called it a war of ignorance, for the only thought that came to them for reasons being in the war was “why?” The people were outraged at the idea of their country being involved in something so ignorant and violent, and they had begun to question the authority of the government due to that shift in consciousness.

There was a segment of the population who stood by the war, simply because they did not want to look weak in the eyes of the world – especially not in the eyes of Communism. Those who stood by the war also had a great disapproval for the rising “anti-culture,” as the documentary put it, which created a great divide amongst the people. My opinion on this document or congressman Bizz Johnson has not shifted during my research. The idea behind the document remains true, simply my understanding of its intentions have grown, as have the world surrounding those intentions. The sheer amount of ignorance people possessed about the war was unbeknownst to me, and to understand just how pointless the war was is baffling. It has become clear that this ignorance was not of out stupidity, either. The notions of the protestors came from the solid basis of the Civil Rights movement and free love – it is actually quite surprising the war lasted as long as it did. I do believe that these notions have left an indelible effect on the country, and have left the United States with a more thoughtful people, for the better.