by John Walters

It’s a seven-letter word that begins with the letter “V” and it has inspired plenty of talk about “a personal decision” and “sacrificing individual needs for national welfare.” It’s a polarizing word:

Vietnam

That’s right, Vietnam. What did you think I was talking about?

Imagine, if you will, a national crisis of sorts.

It is deemed good for American welfare if you soldier up and head over to the Mekong Delta and the thick jungles north of Saigon. This act of sacrifice for your country may very well cost you your life… but you must do it. Your country needs you.

But it’s a personal decision, you say. First of all, you don’t even know where Vietnam is. And you don’t have any reason, personally, to fight anyone from Vietnam. And they’re not even attacking our country. Our country is under no direct threat from Vietnam. And you want me to risk my life for this?

Yes

Yes, you must.

And what if I refuse? Will I lose my job?

Yes, probably, because we are going to imprison you.

But it’s a personal decision.

Uncle Sam does not see it that way.

*****

Nearly 60 years ago, communism and not Covid was deemed the existential threat (never mind that both emanated from Asia). And those who dared to refuse induction into the armed services were incarcerated while also labeled yellow.

Now here’s the big reveal: 1) The fate of Vietnam never directly impacted the national welfare of the United States and 2) Over the course of roughly a dozen years, some 68,000 Americans were killed in Vietnam.

Fast forward to 2021. Now, the national welfare of the United States is not terribly at risk due to Covid-19, but more than ten times as many Americans have died from it than died in Vietnam… in about 1/8 the time.

So it begs the question… why is something that has proven so much more deadly in so much less time allowed to flourish here on the basis that fighting it would compromise one’s freedom, and yet something that was so minor an existential threat to the U.S., relatively, treated as such a great crisis that not only were you forced to put yourself in far greater peril but that you were not even allowed the option of “it’s a personal decision?”

Why is the Vaccine so much more reviled than Vietnam (by a certain section of our nation)?

I think we know the answer… these people worship warfare and are intimidated by science. The former is easily explicable, even attractive, to them. The latter intimidates them.

The simple truth is that Vietnam was one-tenth as deadly as the pandemic and yet no man of draftable age was given the “it’s a personal decision” option. Because the war machine needs fuel to operate.

You’re praised for saying no to a needle. You’re pilloried for saying no to a machine gun.

This is America.