How important is the Vietnam war to you?

[BurtWorm]

Poll question: How important is the Vietnam war to you?

[Burma Jones]

1. Those that forget the past....................n/t

[billbuckhead]

2. Those who forget the past end up in a quagmire

Maybe if Bush showed up for guard duty, we would'nt be in this mess.

[Racenut20]

3. Very important for personal reasons, not political

[Commendatori]

4. Not at all

I'd rather have someone focus on our economy NOW than have an edge on Vietnam that long ago.

If a war record was important to me, I'd have voted for Bush in 1992 and Dole in 1996. Yet I voted for Clinton twice.

I don't give a fuck if Kerry was a war hero, and I wouldn't care if the Swifties turned out to be right. I don't give a shit if Bush showed up for his Guard duty or not.

I'm just trying to get ahead, and our regressive taxation system is making that hard. Health care costs are insane. Kerry gets my vote because he opposes Bush's policies, not because of his medals.

If someone were to prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Swifties were not only correct, but were holding back, I'd still vote for Kerry. I don't even like the man, but I love the fact that he's not Bush. THAT is what is important to me.

[aintitfunny]

5. It was important in its time

It is important to honor those who served. It is important to remember the lessons of that war (some have already forgotton). But it is not important to this presidential race except as a distraction from the real issues. I want the focus off Vietnam service or lack of service, AWOL or "Did his Duty" and now all the dirty tricks. I want the focus on the devastation that this Administration has visited upon us in myriad ways. I want clear, articulate positions. Right now Vietnam is just another quagmire, but now it is bogging down our prospects for unseating the Shrub.

[BurtWorm]

6. I wonder if the lack of (I don't remember it.) votes

says something about how unimportant the Vietnam war is to those born after it.

[Wickerman]

7. I recall what a mess it was

and I recall hearing of families who lost sons no more than 10 years older than me. I saw families torn apart by difference of opinion.

When I was even young my family traveled to Canada in the summers to fish. The resort we stayed at had a marina attendant who was a US citizen. He was really nice to me, helped with rig a fishing line, etc. When my dad found out he was furious. I was to stay away from that "draft-dodger".

That draft-dodger probably started my questioning of authority. How could such a nice guy be a bad man because he didn't want to kill people? Isn't killing bad? Helping others good? It was perplexing.

As the war ragged on and more and more folks began to understand the war was lunacy and more and more kids died, I began to hear stories that not everyone shared equally in the losses.

Rich kids didn't go; smart kids went to school and stayed there. Again, this troubled me - wasn't this the country where we were all equal? How could it be that some of us were more equal than others?

Yeah, the Vietnam War was important to me. It probably shaped who I am today. And who I am today is furious at Bush* for getting that cushy Guard job and then not even fulfilling the task. And, it makes me furious that the press cares more about the obvious lies of the Swifties than the truth of Bush*'s non-compliance with superior directives.

[Mr_Spock]

8. It shaped these two men and is why * can kill 13000 civilians and not care

Bush has never had to face the consequences of his actions - that is why he is a total and complete failure.

[livetohike]

9. Very important

I know people who died there, people who were injured there, people who came back and were so affected by the trauma that they turned to heavy drugs, people who came back and have been unable to hold a job, and one friend who has been homeless and has many psychiatric problems.

Therefore, to have a VietNam vet who served and then spoke out against the war is important to me.

To have a Fortunate Son who lied about his whereabouts while many of my friends gave up so much to serve our country is also important to me.

Is this an issue? To me it is and it is all about character and leadership and George Bush's lack of both.

[truthspeaker]

10. The lessons to be learned (or not) from it are important to me.

The lesson I take from it (and I was born in 1970 so I didn't experience anything first hand) is that a free society like the United States cannot practically wage costly wars of empire and remain free.

The people of the United States will tolerate large amounts of deaths in a good cause and small amounts of deaths in a bad cause, but they will not tolerate large amounts of deaths in a bad cause, unless you do such a good job lying to them about the cause and/or the number of deaths that America is no longer free.