Vietnam Syndrome

The massive bombing and the cruelty of war first broadcast by the media ended up changing the image that many countries were still under control of the U.S. The image of a huge country crushing another smaller country and their soldiers committing massacres were devastating, leaving crushed (but not dead) the spirit of Manifest Destiny.

In the 1968 they elected a president devoted to social reforms and Lyndon Johnson faced strong challenges from two Democrats opposed to the war: Sens. Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy (brother of assassinated President Kennedy and he himself was also killed at the end of the campaign). On March 31st after an humiliating defeat in public opinion polls and the ceaseless extension of the conflict in Vietnam, Johnson withdrew from the presidential race and offered to negotiate an end to the war.

Nixon’s re-election in 1972 caused a mass exodus of disgruntled citizens to countries such as Canada. Opposition to the war spread within and outside the United States among youths and remains responsible for causes of movements against the system, such as the hippie movement.

American universities were the scene of protests against U.S. involvement in this undeclared war, many believe this to be unwarranted. There were violent clashes between students and police massacres. In October 1967, 200,000 protesters marched to the Pentagon in Washington DC, demanding peace.

One of the main sticking points of the anti war movement. It is also true that this situation coincided with one of the moments of maximum economic prosperity with a high demand for employment, which gave a lot of youths safety and feasibility of changing fashions and customs.

The signing of peace accords in Paris was not an exit with honor, as claimed by Nixon, The war left hundreds of thousands of soldiers with extensive drug addiction and affected by the effects of Agent Orange used during the war and thus decades later they have been provided with free medical advice or removal of architectural barriers.

The U.S. military said it had always struggled and victory was not achieved by having their hands tied behind their backs. But the trauma of Vietnam took its toll on the military more than on society at large. Thus a reference to this contest in any film script requires help from the Pentagon as was the case with ‘Officer and a Gentleman’.