Write your response in the Comments section of this post, and use at least two direct quotes and two different sources in your response.
Here are the links:
Watergate then, and "soft" money now. Video.
http://nyti.ms/1yQqDKTThe story of a fairly unknown but worthy U.S. hero: Hugh Thompson. 60 Minutes video.
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/back-to-my-lai |
| Hugh Thompson, far right, and Lawrence Colburn returned back to My Lai for a visit in 1998. |
Death of Hugh Thompson, with some remembrances and words that he wrote about the incidence and his life after My Lai. Blog post.
http://www.mishalov.com/hugh-thompson.html
Medal of Honor medal winner and hero of Vietnam War for military service Sgt. Bennie Adkins (and more): Article and photos. CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/15/us/adkins-medal-of-honor/
The U.S. Army's MOH page for Sgt. Adkins.
http://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/adkins/
These videos and article really left an impact on me and made me realize how uninformed and uneducated I was on these topics. After watching the video "Watergate then, and "soft money" now", I now feel like I really have a better concept of what happened with Watergate and Nixon. I never fully understood the whole scandal itself, but the video really helped clear things up for me. I learned that they limited the amount of money an individual could donate to a candidate to only $1,000; however, corporations were still able to donate whichever amount of money they wanted. This was interesting to me and didn't seem quite right in the realm of fairness. As John McCain quoted from another source, "Corporations are the same as people", individual could simply donate however much they wanted and say it was from a corporation. So was that policy really changing anything? It seems people always find a way around the rules somehow. The "soft money" they would be referring to is the money donated through corporations to the candidates of choice. This was ultimately the loophole.
ReplyDeleteThe 60 minutes video on Hugh Thompson really left an effect on me. This video was heartfelt and extremely emotional when Thompson reminisced on the war. He was very heartbroken at all the lives that were lost during the war that he unbearably witnessed. It had to have been the hardest thing to go through; I can't even begin to imagine what he went through or how he deals with it now. It's something nobody can forget, and it will stay with him in his memory forever. He was hands down a true hero. He saved 11 civilians from the massacre, while his own men were killing the others. He had the right mindset that we all wish the other troops had at the time. He knew what to do and without hesitation went in and saved those lives with no weapons on hand. He waded in a bloody ditch full of dead and dying bodies to save a still living young boy. If that's not a hero, I don't know what is. When Thompson said, "A lot of joy, a lot of satisfaction, and a lot of hurt too...” he was thinking about the war and saving the lives of the women he met when he went back to My Lai. He had to have been extremely proud to have been able to save those lives, but there was also a strong and everlasting hurt he will never be able to let go.
I completely agree with everything that you wrote! I was also alarmed that was so uneducated in these topics.
DeleteTo tell you the truth I knew some things about Watergate but not that much detail. I agree that the video helped me and others understand the problem in our history better.
DeleteI agree on how hard it was to hear him reminisce on the war. Hearing a first hand source like that can really be eye opening and almost mind boggling to hear a survivor of such horrible events.
DeleteI had also learned a lot that I had not known from these articles and videos. I had prior knowledge of Nixon and Watergate due to history classes but I still learned a lot more from this video. It was shocking of what had happened during the Vietnam War Era.
DeleteI felt the same way after reading/ viewing these articles because I didn't realize there was so much I didn't know about this time period. I do believe these articles did help me have a better understanding for the context of "The Things They Carried".
DeleteWatching these videos and reading these article were very informative. These sources left a mark on me and hopefully anybody who took a look at them. The video on Watergate was very interesting. It did not really focus on the context of Watergate rather than the idea that is has brought with it. The video compared todays government to the time of Watergate. During the Nixon campaign he would receive millions of dollars in money from "secret donators." This lead to the law that a candidate that is running can not receive money for their campaign. Like always candidates found a way around this with the idea of "soft money." This is money given to a party instead of the candidate. This was then outlawed in 2002. Again people found away to get around this with "outside politician groups." They would campaign for the candidate without relation to the person themselves. Sounds repetitive don't you think? Well the point this video is trying to bring forth is there will be always be somebody to find away around something. The question is will the person make the correct choice? This is up to interpretation. John McCain believes now is time for, "change." That is how the video makes you think.
ReplyDeleteThe 60 minutes video on Hugh Thompson was very insightful. It showed the significance of the My Lai Massacare. It was a horrible time in our countries history. Hugh Thompson was one of the individuals there. Instead of killing individuals, which included women and children, he stud up and saved 11 civilians. He was brave. Throughout the video his friend talked for him mostly because Hugh could not. It brought back memories. One thing he brought up was interesting, "Why does the US not apologize for doing these horrible things?" My answer would be, "I do not know but they better soon."
Yes, they definitely left a mark on me too. These videos/readings were extremely interesting and I learned a lot that I had no idea about before viewing them. I also agree with your answer to the question about why the US won't apologize for their horrible acts during the war.
DeleteI learned a lot from the videos too, and they all opened my eyes about there topics. Really almost shows the true colors of the government
DeleteI agree with what you said about the Watergate video. I expected the video to go into details of the scandal, but I actually learned so much more about the concept of "soft- money" which was interesting.
DeleteFor excercise 4, I researched the My Lai Massacre, something I had never heard of. I thought the events of that day were horrifying and awful. In the 60 Minutes video about Hugh Thompson, My Lai is referred to as "one of the most shameful chapters in American history," which could not be more correct. In my research, most of what I found was about the massacre itself and the violence that occurred. Not much was said about Hugh Thompson's role in putting a stop to the violence.
ReplyDeleteI think Hugh Thompson gives insight into what Americans notice about war. People are caught up in the details of the gore and violence, because they think that's what war is about. People are intrigued by death and destruction, but yet you have a hero like Hugh Thompson who doesn't get the interest and prestige that he deserves. Instead, people talk about Lieutenant William L. Calley, who lead the massacre and was placed in jail afterwards. I think Hugh Thompson's story gives great insight into American perception of not only the Vietnam War, but war in general.
"As many as 175 enemy troops killed, 18 wounds from enemy fire, 38 hours of battle, 48 hours evading the North Vietnamese troops in the bush - and one tiger." is a quote from the CNN Medal of Honor article. I found the listing of numbers to be a compelling way of telling the story of Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins. It's blunt, just like war. It contrasts with Hugh Thompson's story. Thompson is celebrated for saving lives in a time of war while Adkins is celebrated for taking lives in a time of war, but yet their triumphs are similar.
Throughout reading and watching these articles I found myself learning a lot and embarrassed that I had been oblivious to these incidents that occurred in Americans history. The first video I watched was Back to My Lai, this story was about Larry Colburn and Hugh Thompson who stood up for the right thing when it seemed no one else would. Thompson landed the chopper when he saw soldiers murdering unarmed Vietnamese civilians. He threatened the soldiers stating that he was going to open fire if they didn't stop this unbelievable massacre. What struck me the most is that Lieutenant William Calley and Captain Ernest L. Medina who were amongst the people who ordered this tragedy to unfold were practically allowed to walk away and praised by the American public while Thompson was treated as the guilty party, he stated "I'd received death threats over the phone, dead animals on your porch, mutilated animals on your porch some mornings when you get up. So I was not a good guy."
ReplyDeleteI also watched the Watergate then, and "soft" money now, video. Although I knew president Nixon had wiretapped the phones of the Democratic party to better insure his reelection, I was unaware that illegal contributions were funding his campaign. I learned that there seems to always be a loop hole in politics and that corruption and power have a strong hold on our government. Nixon was exchanging government policies for money and today the wealthiest people are running government with their contributions. It seems that the presidential election relies on one thing and that's what party can raise the most money.
I was embarrassed too, I feel like I should have known about these significant events in US history. I feel like it is very important for everyone to know about them so it will never happen again.
DeleteTill I watched these videos I did not know a lot about the My Lai incident very well. It helped me understand the significance. I wish I would have paid more attention to it when I was taught it in high school.
DeleteThese stories were very eye-opening: made me realize how little I know about very important topics that had quite an effect on our world to date. I'm actually kind of worried and embarrassed that I was so uneducated in these happenings- it really puts me at a disadvantage. I've been aware that President Nixon was associated with a scandal that involved money, but I never really knew what exactly happened. I also was not aware how much the Watergate scandal changed how our system is today. After actively watching/listening/reading I feel much more comfortable with what happened in the Watergate Scandal. I can even tell you what soft money is now! Donor money. In the end Nixon was exchanging government policies for money and to this day the richest of the rich are controlling the government with their soft money contributions. The Watergate Scandal information really shows how people can play the system. We could see how many people were at the end of their ropes with Soft Money, McCain stating that Clinton had treated the White house as a "motel 6, and he was the bellhop."
ReplyDeleteThe Hugh Thompson video was hard for me to watch. A true hero that feels a never ending pain for the damage that was done by the war. While his own men were firing during the massacre, he went in and saved 11 civilians. One thing that Thompson said that really stuck with me was "Why does the US not apologize for doing these horrible things?" Seeing this video really makes the things that happened over there real to me: it's not just history that we're forced to read in high school, these should not be things we are ignorant and oblivious about. The things that Thompson has to carry around as mental baggage baffles me.
While watching Watergate then, "soft" money now I was surprised at President Nixon's actions, but it made me realize in one way or another these things are still going on today. I found it shocking when they were talking about how the dairy industry gave 2 million dollars to Nixon's re-election campaign he approved a raise in the price of milk. Isn't that a bribe? I felt the language was best when they said "The President of the United States was exchanging policy for money.", I felt that statement summed up the whole Watergate scandal and really hit the nail on the head.
ReplyDeleteThe CNN article on Sgt. Maj. Bennie Adkins was eye opening for me. I felt the article started out with the best language when it stated "As many as 175 enemy troops killed, 18 wounds from enemy fire, 38 hours of battle, 48 hours evading the North Vietnamese troops in the bush and one tiger." I felt this article showed just how strong of a force the Vietnamese had when attacking U.S. forces. Sgt. Maj. Adkins is a true hero but while reading this article I kept wondering why did it take 48 years for the U.S. to recognize him for his heroism and award him the Medal of Honor?
I also watched the Watergate then, "soft" money now video and it also surprised me when hearing that the milk industry gave two million dollars to Nixon and then he approved a raise in the price of milk. It's horrifying the control power and money had on something as essential as milk. I was really surprised however learning that today political parties do the exact same thing but it's legal.
DeleteI didn't read the CNN article but I read the Hugh Thompson story and the U.S also took many years to recoginze his honorable actions.
What struck me the most out of these articles was how sneaky and corrupt the government can be. How they can just not even respect the government basically just to earn money for their campaigns. Mcain said “he took the lincoln bedroom and used it like a motel 6 and he was the bellhop.” He was letting people come and stay in the Lincoln bedroom in the white house, soft money donors, they said people who stayed in that room donated up to $7,000,000. Just shows what people do to be in power. It shows that people back then did it and the same practices probably carried into today’s practice. It makes you think about all the government issues and campaigns and that they could all just be based around who put more money into it.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that struck me was Command Sergeant Maj. Bennie G Adkins. My great grandpa earned a purple heart while fighting in WWII so these stories always mean a lot to me. Reading about Adkins heroism is so admirable and breathtaking. “Sergeant First Class Adkins' extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Detachment A-102, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces and the United States Army.” This sentence really just says how successful and how much he did for his country, he earned his honor and will live with it forever. We can learn from this to try and better respect the people fighting for our country today. He is a living survivor of one of the most tragic life events.
I agree with how you were alarmed about sneaky and corrupt the government can be! It's crazy to think that things like this, and probably worse, are happening right now in the present. I can relate to how the stories struck you too because my grandfather was also in the war!
DeleteI agree the fact that he preformed that heroically even while being injured by mortars is amazing he definitely does go far beyond the call of duty. I thought the quote you picked was perfect for explaining how heroic he was. Command Sergeant Major Bennie G Adkins really does bring more respect to people who put their lives on the line for us across seas, Soldiers like him bring pride and respect to the military.
DeleteAfter watching these videos and viewing these articles, I can truly say I learned more about the history behind the time setting in the book, "The Things We Carried". I have heard of some of these topics before, but one topic I had not heard of before this blog post was the article about Hugh Thompson. I have learned about the other topics through history class and also my Grandpa served in the military at a young age, but Hugh Thompson was a person I was unfamiliar with.
ReplyDeleteThe topic that struck me the most interesting was the video about soft money. I have heard about "The Watergate Scandal" in history class, but did not realize how it relates to today's politics. I do not know much information regarding politics in general, so this video was more interesting to me in that way as well. Soft money is a term that came about after Nixon's term and scandal. "We can do legally, everything that Nixon had to do illegally." Soft money is defined as, "a contribution to a political party that is not accounted as going to a particular candidate, thus avoiding various legal limitations" according to Google. This completely changed the game for political campaigns and the playing field of elections. Former President Bill Clinton seemed to use a form of bribery when he invited big soft-money donors to stay and have a sleepover in the white house during the duration of his political campaign in 1996. Senator John McCain was not happy with this and decided to say something about it to close the loophole in the subject of soft money. "There was too much money that was washing around, unattributed, and unaccounted for.. The system had become corrupted." In 2002, this problem was resolved by Congress.
I think all of the articles/ videos will help anyone understand more about America's history and also connect information we learned, to further help us comprehend things discussed in the book, "The Things They Carried".
Watching and reading these videos and articles really had an impact on me. I first watched the video about Watergate. The thing that stuck to me about the Watergate Scandal was when the video said, “We can do legally everything Nixon had to do illegally”. This stuck to me because it showed how much times have changed and Nixon basically got impeached for these actions but now, nothing would probably happen. I learned that millions of dollars were donated from unknown donors which I was not aware of before watching this video. The language in this video was the most powerful when it had the actual quotes of the companies committing their wrongdoings. The fact that Nixon is taking money in exchange for policies that the donors want is something that is still done today but on a lower scale due to campaign contribution limits.
ReplyDeleteThe second was an article about Sgt. Adkins. The part that stuck to me was when the article stated, “Because of his efforts to carry a wounded soldier to an extraction point and leave no one behind, Sergeant First Class Adkins and his group were unable to reach the last evacuation helicopter”. This stuck to me because I would assume that he didn’t know that he would ever make it out if he missed the evacuation helicopter and which in turn risked his life and the lives of his crew. The language in this article is at its best when it talks about Sgt. Adkins’ 38 hour battle and 48 hour evasion. It just seems so brutal and I can imagine myself in that situation and it just seems awful.
The video on Watergate also had an impact on me. I was also shocked to learn that today presidents and their campaigns are able to do things that years back were unheard of.
DeleteThese articles and videos made me realize how much important history I have never heard of. Before watching the Watergate video I would have been dumbfounded if someone had started talking about soft money. I was amazed when in the Watergate video one of the men said " We can do legally now, everything Nixon had to do illegally". It is interesting how Nixon had to resign from the presidency and yet now we are doing the same thing all over again.
ReplyDeleteThe video I was most shocked at was the video about Huge Thompson. I had never before heard of My Lai, nor the massacre that took place there. Huge Thompson was such a strong incredible person to be able to risk his life and possibly shooting people on his side to keep them from killing more innocent people. Innocent, unarmed old men, women, and babies. Thompson was able to save 11 people when he decided to land his helicopter and protect the innocent from being murdered. Larry Colburn said " There is a big differerence between killing in war and murder, cold blooded murder" Thompson also felt strongly about this " What do you call it when you march a hundred or two hundred people down in a ditch and line up on the side with machine guns and start firing into it? Reminds me of another story that happened in World War II like the Nazis". Thompson and Colburn both hated the fact that so many innocent people were killed and they were only able to save 11 innocents. This story really helps to put things into perspective for me.
I was also shocked when I heard that line about how what Nixon did illegally back then would be legal now. I learned quite a bit from the Watergate and Nixon video that I had not know before. I had some knowledge about the Vietnam Era due to high school but these videos and articles increased my knowledge on the subject.
DeleteThese videos and articles were very interesting and some of them were very eye opening. In the 60 minutes video "back to my lai" i thought it was crazy that it took 30 years for these men to get recognition. It was very sad that Glen Andreauto was shot 3 weeks after, it is too back that he died after doing such a good deed. It was so awful that they acted so brutally and then the government tried to hide the fact that they killed innocent people. The fact that they killed 170 people is just awful i cant believe people could do that to innocent people. One of the soldiers that shot the innocent people in the video says" I did it because I thought I supposed to do it". I thought it was very touching seeing the people they saved thank them and it was amazing how humble the men were. It must have been hard for them to go back there with all the bad memories that happened there.
ReplyDeleteThe story about commander sergeant major Bennie Adkins was amazing to say the least, the fact that he acted to bravely makes me think to the chapter of our book "how to tell a true war story" in this chapter on page 67 he says "in any war story,especially a true one, it's difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen" but in this story there in so exaggeration it is the amazing truth that he did something this heroic. The fact that he was injured and still went onto the dangerous battle field to save the wounded is inspiration. he deserves recognition because he is a true hero in a true heroic war story.
The video on the Watergate scandal really stood out to me. The video talked more about the issue that Watergate has introduced and less about the scandal itself. The video talks about “soft money.” Soft money is the millions of dollars donated from large corporations and rich donors to a political party. During the Watergate era, Nixon used huge amounts of soft money to fund his reelection campaign. My favorite quote from the video came from the beginning. “We can (now) do legally, everything Nixon had to do illegally.” I also like the quote “The president was exchanging policy for money.” It is eye opening and quite frightening that this is still going on today.
ReplyDeleteI also watched the 60 Minutes video Back to My Lai. The video is about the My Lai massacre and how a couple men saved several Vietnamese civilians from being killed for no reason. The killing went on for four hours, however, more would have been killed if Hugh Thomson and Larry Colburn had not intervened. One of the men who killed the civilians was interviewed and defended himself by saying he felt he was doing the right thing. The fact that American soldiers killed innocent people to get a power high is truly sickening to think about.
The Watergate video also stood out to me, it is amazing how even our president was corrupt. I think it is amazing how the trace the money through the slush fund to link it to president Nixon. This reflects of today politics and how still they are very corrupt. I also was shocked by the My Lai Massacre video i thought it was insane how people could be alright with killing innocent villagers just because of an order. It sickening me that the only explanation they had for their actions were that their superiors told them to do it even know they knew it was extremely wrong.
DeleteI liked the article on soft money the best because it was nice to see people misusing money in politics and get in trouble for their mistakes. Today it seems like money rules the elections still which means they did not fix the money issue after the soft money issue. My favorite part is when John McCain says "if money is free speech then, the wealthiest people in America are those who get to speak the most freely." This is important because money is not supposed to control our freedom of speech. I think the Supreme Court needs to step in and make some rule changes because it is obviously a problem when it comes to election time. It was surprising to me that Bill Clinton would let people stay at the White House who also happened to be campaign contributors. Thompson was an incredibly brave soldier for what he did to help those people and he only wishes he could have done more. The quote “he was treated like a traitor for 30 years,” is really moving because, h e must have felt like he was in a prison in his own country of the USA. I could not imagine being ostracized for 30 years and then receiving the highest awarded medal. It is very odd how some things turn out
ReplyDeleteI watched the video soft money, I had only heard of the Watergate scandal I did not know what actually happened. I was most surprised to discover the same issues that had shocked the American people at the time of Nixon's presidency are still in practice today, are are a big part of the elections. The quote "the president is exchanging government policy for money" shocked me because Nixon was essentially changing the government for the highest bidders. I believe the "soft" money issue should be changed, although I do not think it ever will be, due to the condition that has arisen because of this very issue. Huge Thompson has been a hero ever since he saved so many people's lives. Though he was constantly threatened for over 30 years, he stood by his actions because he knew what he did was right. "I cannot explain why it happened. I just wish our crew that day could have helped more people than we did." I think this quote really shows what Mr. Thompson is made of. He believed what did was right, and he would stop a whole army from destroying a village if it happened again.
ReplyDelete