Tragic Losses
http://dutchvi.blogspot.com/
The Vietnam War left America with 58,000 casualties, most of them in their teens or early twenties. Vietnam suffered losses around two-million. These are devastating statistics and most of us have a family member that was killed in the war. This is not even counting the wounded, those who were left missing an arm or a leg or an eye. And front and formost, the Vietnam Vets were missing their spirits. When they returned from war, they were treated like garbage. They were spit on, yelled at, and were often publicly humiliated. A lot of them also suffered from depression. The scars left in their spirit were much greater than those suffered on the body.
http://www.themythofalzheimers.com/blog/index.php/category/traumatic-brain-injury/
"The Song Remains The Same"
http://www.last.fm/music/Bob+Dylan/+images/245641
Maybe the one positive outcome was the drastic change in music that occured because of the Vietnam War. This music had such a huge impact on society, and changed how music would be written forever. A lot of modern songs today reflect that era's music and style of performing. If the Vietnam War had never happened, there never would have been such a vast change in music.
Nothing Much Changes
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/freedom-01132011155053.html
Our overall goal to achieve by engaging in the Vietnam conflict was to stop South Vietnam from becoming over-run by the Communist North Vietnam, eventually stamping out Communism all over that part of Asia. We failed. Vietnam is still Communist, and so is Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and many other countries are technically not Communist, but do not have freedom. We paid the price of 58,000 lives to not succeed our goal. This was a sad time for America and it still affects people today,
Thesis: America engaging in the Vietnam conflict caused more negative long term consequences than positive, created much social unrest that directly fractured the unity of America, and it would have benefited America better, as a whole, if we did not engage in the Vietnam conflict.
