Paul Potter “Incredible War” Speech (Modified) On April 17, 1965 the Students for a Democratic Society and Women’s Strike for Peace led their first anti-Vietnam War protest in Washington, D.C. 25,000 people joined in the protest which included speeches and music. Most of us grew up thinking that the United States was a strong but humble nation, that involved itself in world affairs only reluctantly, that respected the integrity of other nations and other systems, and that engaged in wars only as a last resort. Now the incredible war in Vietnam has proved that morality and democracy are not the guiding principles of American foreign policy. The further we explore the reality of what this country is doing and planning in Vietnam the more we are driven toward the conclusion that the United States is rapidly becoming the greatest threat to world peace in the world today. The President says that we are defending freedom in Vietnam. Whose freedom? Not the freedom of the Vietnamese. The pattern of repression and destruction that we have developed and justified in this war is so thorough that it can only be called cultural genocide. We have broken and destroyed local customs and traditions, trampled upon those things of value which give dignity and purpose to life. The President mocks freedom if he insists that the war in Vietnam is a defense of American freedom. Perhaps the only freedom that this war protects is the freedom of the Warhawks in the Pentagon and the State Department to experiment in counter-insurgency and guerilla warfare. We must accept the consequences that calling for end of the war in Vietnam is in all likelihood accepting the possibility that Vietnam will be Communist. This country must come to understand that the creation of a Communist country in the world today is not an ultimate defeat. If people are given the opportunity to choose their own lives it is likely that some of them will choose what we have called “Communist systems.” We are not powerless in that situation. Recent years have broken the myth that the Communist world is a monolithic one and have conclusively shown that American power can be used to give small nations some greater latitude from the dominations of large nations. Source: Speech by Paul Potter, “The Incredible War”, April 17, 1965. Potter was the president of Students for a Democratic Society, a group of left wing student activist who protested for military disarmament, greater democratic freedoms and racial equality. 1. What is the Origin of this speech (when was it given, where, and by whom)? Honors: When it comes to the truth about public opinion and Vietnam, how does the origin add value to the document and in what ways does it serve as a limitation? 2. How does Potter's perspective on the reasons for US involvement in Vietnam differ from that of President Johnson?
Paul Potter “Incredible War” Speech (Modified)
On April 17, 1965 the Students for a Democratic Society and Women’s Strike for Peace led their first anti-Vietnam War protest in Washington, D.C. 25,000 people joined in the protest which included speeches and music.
Most of us grew up thinking that the United States was a strong but humble nation, that involved itself in world affairs only reluctantly, that respected the integrity of other nations and other systems, and that engaged in wars only as a last resort. Now the incredible war in Vietnam has proved that morality and democracy are not the guiding principles of American foreign policy.
The further we explore the reality of what this country is doing and planning in Vietnam the more we are driven toward the conclusion that the United States is rapidly becoming the greatest threat to world peace in the world today.
The President says that we are defending freedom in Vietnam. Whose freedom? Not the freedom of the Vietnamese. The pattern of repression and destruction that we have developed and justified in this war is so thorough that it can only be called cultural genocide. We have broken and destroyed local customs and traditions, trampled upon those things of value which give dignity and purpose to life.
The President mocks freedom if he insists that the war in Vietnam is a defense of American freedom. Perhaps the only freedom that this war protects is the freedom of the Warhawks in the Pentagon and the State Department to experiment in counter-insurgency and guerilla warfare.
We must accept the consequences that calling for end of the war in Vietnam is in all likelihood accepting the possibility that Vietnam will be Communist. This country must come to understand that the creation of a Communist country in the world today is not an ultimate defeat. If people are given the opportunity to choose their own lives it is likely that some of them will choose what we have called “Communist systems.” We are not powerless in that situation. Recent years have broken the myth that the Communist world is a monolithic one and have conclusively shown that American power can be used to give small nations some greater latitude from the dominations of large nations.
Source: Speech by Paul Potter, “The Incredible War”, April 17, 1965. Potter was the president of Students for a Democratic Society, a group of left wing student activist who protested for military disarmament, greater democratic freedoms and racial equality.
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1. What is the Origin of this speech (when was it given, where, and by whom)? Honors: When it comes to the truth about public opinion and Vietnam, how does the origin add value to the document and in what ways does it serve as a limitation? |
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2. How does Potter's perspective on the reasons for US involvement in Vietnam differ from that of President Johnson? |
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