The Effects of the Vietnam War on American Soldiers Essay

The Effects of the Vietnam War on American Soldiers - Essay Example The South Vietnamese forces along with the United State depended on the air force and fire power with which they conducted search and destroy operations. "The Vietnam War, like the other two world wars before it, was a conflict that defined war for a generation. Unlike those previous wars, it was not fought on a broad international battlefield but rather in a narrow stretch of land far distant from America. Moreover as our study shows, it left not a single overwhelming image, but conflicting visions and meanings over which we continue to fight, though less stridently than at the height of that bitterly divisive conflict" (Wouters and Laufer 316). The United States entered the war to avoid the takeover of South Vietnam by the communist. The strategy behind this support was called containment. U.S. Military advisors arrived in 1950. In the early 1960s the U.S. involvement grew and the early 1965 they deployed combat units. The involvement of the U.S. was the highest in 1968 during the Tet Offensive. Later U.S. forces withdrew under a policy called Vietnamization, as South Vietnamese troops were armed and trained. The fighting in Vietnam continued even after a peace treaty was signed by all parties involved in January 1973. The U.S. Congress passed the Case-Church Amendment in June 1973, responding to the anti-war movement. The Case-Church Amendment banned U.S. Military intervention. North Vietnam captured Saigon in April 1975. In 1976, North Vietnam and South Vietnam were reunified. The Vietnam War had a huge impact on the culture, foreign relations and politics of the United States. The American citizens were very upset over the government's justification for the war and the means of fighting used. The war encountered a large human cost, which included the loss of 58,159 U.S. soldiers. The Vietnam War did not only result in the loss of life of American soldiers. The war had lasting effects on the soldiers who were in Vietnam. The soldiers not only suffered physical pain and injuries, they also suffered many psychological disorders. The fact that their own country men had turned against them affected the soldiers psychologically and emotionally. "Going to war creates a gulf between the warrior and his fellow citizens who have not directly experienced warfare" (Wouter and Laufer 40). The effects on the psychic of the soldiers were devastating up to the extent that they also stared committing suicide due to depression. The soldiers also faced problems which had lasting effects, these included drug addiction and the effects of Agent Orange on the soldiers and their children. "With the Vietnam war came widespread drug use, anti-military activism, racial tensions and increasing crime, all of which debilitated the training and readiness of the U.S. forces" (Baker 64) . Soldiers faced extreme conditions like hunger, fatigue, diseases and the like. Due to the intense conditions the soldiers faced in Vietnam, war memories were not forgotten easily. This resulted in a psychological disorder called delayed stress syndrome, which is described as extreme stress or even disorder of the brain caused by shocking memories of the past. Studies show that almost 15 per cent of the 3.3 million Americans who were a part of the Vietnam War were diagnosed with delayed stress sy

The Catholic Church and Its Influence on Africans in Colonial Latin Essay

The Catholic Church and Its Influence on Africans in Colonial Latin America - Essay Example The Church used a number of ways for a number of ways for conveying its messages and maintaining the order which ranged from the content of the sermons to the establishment of institutions like the Inquisition. The Catholic Church was an influential and powerful institution in colonial Latin American society, but its teachings were not followed by all the members of the colonial Latin American society. Africans in Colonial Latin America As Landers pointed out that the Africans started living in Latin America about a century before they started living in the United States. In her book ‘Slaves, Subjects and Subversives’ she studied the African Diaspora in Latin America. The study includes the experiences of many types of African descents, most of them were slaves, but there were also free people. She also presented her views about Christianity which was purposefully and religiously used for enslaving oppressors.1 Out of about twelve million Africans only eleven million cou ld survive the trauma and horror of slavery of the Middle Passage and mostly worked as slaves in plantation. Their and their decedent’s experiences of plantation slavery are horrible realities of the Iberian colonies of Latin America. The Catholic Church played a key role in soothing their sufferings.2 The Role of the Catholic Church in Maintaining Social Order The entire population of the Colonial Latin America society was under the influence of the Catholic Church including Africans who were mostly slaves and the Church served as an institution aiming to maintain the social order in the society. The Catholic Church tried to ensure that the social order is not overturned by the Africans or the slaves. The sermons of the Catholic Church did not approve the extreme cruelty of the slave owners and often criticized them, but they didn’t say anything against the slavery. The sermons of Padre Antonio Vieira instructed African slaves to obey their masters irrespective of the extreme cruel treatment by them. The sermons also talked about the rewards in the heaven for their sufferings on the Earth and insisted to pay attention on peace of their souls neglecting their physical pains.3 These sermons meant to comfort African slaves so that the social order is not disturbed. The sermons of the Catholic Church also tried to minimize any possibility by the African slaves to rise up against their masters or to escape from their masters. The sermons aimed to divert the focus of the African slaves from their sufferings to the afterlife and their souls. The sermons emphasized on neglecting worldly pains for the peace of souls and afterlife and ensured that the slaves are loyal to their masters and masters are obeyed by them so that the social order is maintained. The Catholic Church also used the institution like the Inquisition to maintain the social order. The Inquisition was used for interrogating and bringing to trial those who don’t follow the teaching s of the Catholic Church and go against it. â€Å"The Inquisition investigated everything from not living up to the teachings of the Church, to practicing Judaism, to charges of sorcery†