"You may say I'm a
dreamer": How the
1960s peace movement continues to influence 21st century protest
By Margaret Munoff
Everybody
in the world has an opinion on war, one way or another. Since most of us have
never experienced war first hand, we tend to look toward the past for answers to
our questions about it. When war erupted in
Vietnam
during the sixties, it thrust
the
United States
into a cultural revolution.
This revolution included a dynamic change in how protesting was perceived and
organized. As a unit, people came through with a clear message to stop the war.
Today, this is becoming a main focus of opponents to the war in
Iraq
. Though the combat in
Vietnam
and
Iraq
may, at present, be worlds
apart in magnitude, the movements associated with each conflict are becoming
increasingly consubstantial. It is
evident the movement against the Vietnam War clearly influenced those who are
now staging their own protests against the war in
Iraq
.
The
primary source of opposition against each of these wars arose from the
disappointment in the government’s rationale for going into battle, along with
their actions and strategy in war time. The
United States
’ involvement in the Vietnam
War began in 1964, after that country was divided into
North Vietnam
and
South Vietnam
by the Geneva Conference (“
Vietnam
”). The rationale the
United States
gave for aiding the South
Vietnamese was that there was a need to contain communism in
Southeast Asia
(“
Vietnam
”). Because there was no
Congressional vote on starting combat in
Vietnam
, many protestors viewed it as
an illegal war (“
Vietnam
”). As President Lyndon B.
Johnson increased the levels of troops being sent over to
Vietnam
, only for the quagmire to
remain unresolved, support dwindled even more. When the draft began in 1969, it
fueled unprecedented protest by outraged young Americans with friends who were
dying in
Vietnam
, and who were about to get
drafted themselves. Many of the draftees who could afford it moved to
Canada
or enrolled in college to avoid
service in the armed forces, leaving the nation’s poor population with the
burden of this war (“
Vietnam
”). By the end of the Vietnam
War, almost 58,000 young men had lost their lives in combat (“
Vietnam
”). An incident that also
fueled the protestors’ call for peace was the
My Lai
massacre. On
March 16th, 1968
, US soldiers entered the
village
of
My Lai
. They though that there would
be Viet Cong insurgents to battle (“
My Lai
”). Instead of leaving when they realized the insurgents had
already fled, they began killing civilians, including old men, women, and
children. Many villagers were raped and tortured by US soldiers (“
My Lai
”). Even more were executed.
The total number of deaths in the
My Lai
incident was around 400 (“
My Lai
”). Government officials
denied that anything out of the ordinary had taken place until 1969, when
details of the massacre would surface through letters and first hand accounts.
The public, who had been kept in the dark about
My Lai
, were angered and started questioning the integrity of their
government officials. This long, arduous war lasted until 1973, when
United States
forces withdrew under President
Nixon without a real victory (“
Vietnam
”).
In
the 21st century,
United States
citizens are faced with many of
the same concern with
Iraq
that the public had about the
conflict in
Vietnam
. As with
Vietnam
, faulty rationale and soldier
violence has increased resistance to the war in
Iraq
. In March of 2003, President
George W. Bush first launched air strikes on
Iraq
. The two key arguments for this
use of force were the connection of Iraqi officials to the terrorist group Al
Qaeda, and the premise that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was producing weapons
of mass destruction. The link has proven to be weak at best, and one year and 9
months later, weapons have yet to be found (Page). What little evidence was
presented to the UN by former Secretary of State Colin Powell was later found to
be faulty. Protestors now had new reasons to distrust the government, as they
had in the sixties. In addition, as in the incident at
My Lai
, soldiers in the war in
Iraq
have been accused of
mistreating a significant number of prisoners. On
April 30th, 2004
, an article in The New
Yorker was published, revealing disturbing photographs of prisoner abuse at
the Abu Ghraib prison in
Iraq
. These photographs depicted
male prisoners naked being forced into degrading sexual positions by American
soldiers. One of the photographs showed a female soldier holding a leash
attached to a prisoner’s neck (“Abu”). This scandal created an even bigger
outcry when the photos were broadcast on the popular CBS news show, 60 Minutes
II (“Abu”). To say the torture at Abu Ghraib was another
My Lai
would be an overstatement, but
the causes of the behavior are similar. In both cases, abuse of power occurred
as a result of poor leadership and heightened levels of insurgent violence.
Incidents like this strengthen the argument of pacifists and new leftists, who
believe that violence can only lead to more violence (Albert). Though the
Vietnam
conflict was much larger than
the war in
Iraq
(Greider), the arguments of
that era still ring true with protestors today.
Society
changed during the 1960s, and with it came rebellion against the social norms
that had dominated the prior decade. The hippies and activists of the decade
used and improved upon rallies and marches, civil disobedience techniques, and
forms of silent protest. These techniques keep improving, but are still in use
today. Marches that include rallies and teach-ins exist as a way for anti-war
activists to come together to learn from each other and to make their voices
heard. At one rally in 1967, thirty-five thousand people protested on the steps
of the Pentagon (“Anti-war”). In February of 2003, millions of people
worldwide turned out for marches to protest the war in Iraq. In
Washington
,
DC
, over 100,000 came to protest (“Popular”).
Rome
alone turned out three million
anti-war protestors (“Popular”). Analysts say this was the biggest protest
since the Vietnam era. Often, rallies and protests draw a great deal of media
attention because of their large size. Typically, there will be guest speakers
and lectures during the rally so that the anti-war faction gets as much out of
any air time as possible. This tactic dates back to the
Vietnam
protests, when speakers like
Abbie Hoffman and former
Vietnam
vets would attend rallies to
boost attendance and TV coverage (Albert).
During
the sixties, civil disobedience was praised as an effective method of protest.
This method included the use of die-ins and sit-ins as blockades. Die-ins served
as a unique form of protest, in which protestors would lie down and display fake
bloodied bandages to simulate war wounds of dead soldiers, usually covering
themselves in anti-war related signs and slogans (“Die-in."). More
recently, a die-in protesting the 2003 invasion of
Iraq
by the
United States
and its allies took place in
Sheffield
, a city in the
United Kingdom
. As they did in the sixties,
this group of protestors covered themselves with bandages to simulate deaths in
Iraq
. Because nonviolent protestors
who participate in sit-ins and die-ins are often met with violence from police,
the public tends to side with the peaceful protestors. Though largely symbolic,
these events are important because they draw a great amount of free news and
media attention to the anti-war cause.
Another
form of protest that has been used frequently since the 1960s is silent protest.
Silent protest includes everything from flyers denouncing the actions of the
government, to more subtle measures, such as wearing a peace sign. One of the
most famous debates over the legality of silent protest is the 1969 Supreme
Court case of Tinker vs. Des Moines
involving three students, John Tinker, Christopher Eckhardt, and Mary Beth
Tinker. They wished to make their opposition to the Vietnam War public by
wearing black armbands. When the Des Moines school board overheard these plans,
they passed a resolution banning the armbands from schools, and the three high
school students were sent home (“Tinker”). Instead of caving in to the
demands of the school, the young protestors continued to wear the armbands for
their intended duration, and missed nearly three weeks of school. Because the
Supreme Court later ruled in favor of the students, it meant that First
Amendment rights do not cease to exist when in public buildings like schools
(“Tinker”). This case was quoted as a precedent in other cases like Barber
vs. Dearborn Public Schools, in which a student was sent home for wearing a
shirt that had the words “International Terrorist” written below a picture
of President George W. Bush (“Barber”). In institutions like Dearborn
Schools in
Michigan
, politically active students
are able to wear peace buttons and shirts with anti-war slogans because of the
initiative taken by Tinker and his friends. It is evident that no matter which
forms of protest were used to convey the anti-war sentiment during the
Vietnam
era, they were usually symbolic
and set a precedent for future protestors.
In
1971, the late John Lennon wrote to “imagine all the people, living life in
peace” in one of the most recognizable songs of the last century.
“Imagine”, along with other songs and media from that time period, are still
widely known today because of their political and historical impact on the peace
movement. During the 1960s, music was at its creative peak. One of the most
influential groups in history, The Beatles wrote songs against the Vietnam
conflict that are still relevant in today’s modern war in Iraq. Many
songwriters like Pete Seeger, the composer of the peace anthems “Turn, Turn,
Turn” and “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” also spoke out (Hadju 74).
Though not entirely effective alone, music helped bring solidarity to the peace
movement through a common anthem (Hadju). Singer Harry Belafonte agrees. He says
of the music of the sixties, “It raised people’s spirits, it gave them
courage, it gave them battle songs… it was good for the human soul. Could the
same thing happen again? Absolutely!” (Hadju 78). Protestors
and musicians today see The Beatles, Seeger, and others as role models and
advocates for change (Oppelaar). Contemporary musician Ani DiFranco, born long
after the
Vietnam
era, still cites Seeger as a
political and musical influence (Hadju 75). Today, anthems like the Black Eyed
Peas’ “Where is The Love?” and Eminem’s “Mosh”, influence a new
generation of activists, and re-ignite memories of those who were old enough to
remember the
Vietnam
protests.
Another
influence on protest movements of the 1960s and today is television. Television
is a major source of news for many people, and can often shape opinions on
issues. Images from World War II were shown on newsreels in the forties, so the
concept was not foreign, but the increased ownership of TVs in the sixties
actually brought the Vietnam War into people’s homes. People became frightened
by the carnage and bloodshed that their relatives and friends faced by being
deployed to this war zone. Increased technological capabilities that were
developed for television in the late 20th century have only enhanced
the reality of war and brought the public closer to it. Live and in color,
24-hour feeds and news channels connect us vicariously to a war that is
thousands of miles away. As the public saw young soldiers dying over in
Vietnam
, people are now seeing carnage
from
Iraq
enter their homes everyday on
channels like CNN and Fox News. As in the
Vietnam
era, many people deeply
saddened by the images of war in
Iraq
and are influenced to publicly
protest the
United States
’ involvement in the conflict.
Organization
and rallying are important in protest, but it often takes a large group of
people to get things headed in the right direction. Anti-war groups often form
to get people to move cohesively in their actions against the war. Groups like
Vietnam Veterans Against War (VVAW) have been positive influences in both
anti-war movements. Many of these soldiers spoke out about the atrocities of the
Vietnam
during the seventies. In recent
years, their mission has been revitalized. On their website, the VVAW says
“Recently, American troops have been sent into combat in the
Middle East
… for many of the same
misguided reasons that were used to send us to
Southeast Asia
.” (
Vietnam
). The Vietnam Veterans now protest the war in
Iraq
because they know the
first-hand psychological and physical ramifications of a never-ending war. The
VVAW and other groups serve as models for the new emerging opposition to the war
in
Iraq
. A fairly new anti-war faction
called International A.N.S.W.E.R. is organizing a nationwide protest for January
20th, 2005, the day of President Bush’s second inaugural (International).
If it weren’t for the precedents set by the leftists of the sixties, today’s
anti-war organizations may have never been able to get mobilized.
In
an ever changing world, it is normal that the peace movement has new resources,
influences, and ideas to supplement the ideas gained from
Vietnam
era protestors. However, the
overall theme is the same. The sixties taught the people of this generation that
protesting was a powerful tool in shaping public opinion, and that dissent was
no longer socially unacceptable. People reflect on the hippies and the glossed
over “era of peace and love” with a romanticized outlook, but few really
step back and see how those flower children truly enabled the American public to
use their first amendment rights to the fullest extent. The
way the protest movement started against
Vietnam
is how the movement against
Iraq
is starting, quiet and
respectful. After years of quiet and respectful, the protestors of
Vietnam
got louder. If history does
have a way of repeating itself, this nation has already started on the path
toward a new cultural revolution in this century.
Working
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