Revelations from the Vietnam War - Andrew Nguyen Week 5

Andrew Nguyen

ASA 002 A03

Week 5

            While reading Andrew Priest’s From Saigon to Baghdad: The Vietnam Syndrome, the Iraq War and American Foreign Policy, I was surprised to learn how much the Vietnam War impacted the United States in ways other than just a decrease in morale. The Vietnam syndrome’s set of criteria means nothing as the US keeps meddling into other countries’ business. The US is brushing off guidelines to help them make smarter decisions in foreign policy. If this pattern keeps up, how could we learn from past mistakes? Another issue that the article points out is that the Vietnam War showed how insignificant popular sovereignty is. Although the large majority of the population did not agree with intervention in Vietnam, that did not matter as it was the President who is the ultimate authority. I feel like this exemplifies hegemony within the US. The US government establishes a sense of patriotism and freedom for its citizens by giving them rights, including the right to vote, but, in reality, the ordinary citizen has very little power. Furthermore, the citizens think their interests align with that of the government while the government acts on its own, without the input of the citizens. Did the war intensify hegemony within the US?