Vietnam Marks 30 Years Since War's End - Yahoo! News
I was only 12 when Saigon fell. Although I was in no real danger of being drafted into the war, I do have odd memories of the time.
I was in 5th grade during the election cycle of 1972. I remember the kids running around on the playground at school yelling about who they were for in the election. The area I grew up in was distinctly republican. My father was one of the few democrats in town. All the kids were saying Nixon was their man. I couldn't understand why they were "rooting" for Nixon when McGovern was the obvious choice. I remember asking my dad why and the expression on his face as he tried to explain politics to a 10 year old.
Vietnam put my father in a number of difficult positions. Again, the memories I have are odd. I remember watching the evening news with my family. When the anchorman would talk about Vietnam there was always a multi-colored map of southeast Asia with the day's body count. I asked my dad why we always saw a higher body count for the enemy but it seemed like we were losing the war. My poor father had to try and explain that one to me as well.
I'm not sure what to take away from this ramble. Looking back it's clear that America had already started to view elections for the presidency as a sporting event. How can we root for a candidate when the candidates for both parties talk in sound bites instead of discussing the issues in a detailed and rational manner.
I hope I don't have to explain these things to my son.
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