Backroads ponders media troubles again

[JohnsonJones]

On 7/22/2023 at 2:19 PM, Carborendum said:

This is really all I'm saying.  But I'd say that we're only our own worst enemy in the current generation.  And I'll even admit that it was so at the time we were born.  But there was a spiritual reason that America won WWII.  And there is a spiritual reason we lost Vietnam.  Korea was a transition point where we basically had a stalemate.

And I believe that the results of those wars marked a turning point in the spiritual strength of this country.  While every nation has sins and faults, we were largely a God-fearing nation.  But somewhere in the 50s and 60s things changed.

This is something that has gathered steam over the past few years.

I don't talk about it much (and really don't have a desire to) but as a Vet, I always felt we actually WON Vietnam.  It was one area which conservatives also agreed with many of the older military as well. 

It was the Far Left that pushed the idea that we "lost" Vietnam.

The US has never lost a war.

I really dislike that this entire idea that we lost Vietnam somehow has come around.  The Goal of the United States in Vietnam was not to destroy Vietnam.  It was not to rule Vietnam.  It was to prevent Communism from dominating South East Asia. 

We largely succeeded in this Goal.  Unfortunately, Vietnam itself and Laos both became completely communist, and dominated by Communism, but the fears of it spreading to places like the Phillipines (though it is still a threat there) and other locations did not occur.  People do not realize the effect that we had in making sure that did NOT happen. 

In that way, the US was HIGHLY successful in it's war with Vietnam, and halted the spread of Communism effectively. 

I suppose it depends on how you see victory vs. loss.  Many Americans felt we were there to rule over Vietnam, but if we were, we went about that war in the wrong way and with the wrong method.  We weren't there to rule, but to prevent.  It was a proxy war in a way for control of the larger region of Asia.  It is a war that we won as we not only retained control of the sections of Asia we already influenced, but built upon that with a stronger hold for the most part.

When Veterans came back from Vietnam the Hippies and far Left spat on them, called them names, and told them that they were losers even tried to claim that Vietnam was a loss.  It was hurtful then, it is hurtful now.  The Conservatives didn't do that, nor did the independents. 

I'm not angry at you, it's not your fault.  I am sad though, because if someone like you (who I think is pretty far right and pretty conservative) is now echoing this idea that Vietnam was lost, it shows how far widespread the far left's influence from back then has gone, and how some ideas that were from the far left are now also part of the conservative thought process.  It makes me angry at that sort of success (so not an individual, but the ideology's spread).

It was before your time though (if I understand your age) when all that occurred, but the anger and hurt probably still goes on for many.  For a short time (after 9-11) the nation was united and Veterans felt welcome finally, but as with all good things in the mortal realm, it too probably is finally passing. 

Edited September 17, 2023 by JohnsonJones

[Ironhold]

10 hours ago, LDSGator said:

Now it’s so widespread that even if you are against it, no one cares or will listen to you. When the races live together it’s bound to happen. 

Ironically, nowadays you're more likely to see members of certain racial minorities be the most opposed to interracial relationships than the people you'd expect.

Racial supremacy movements have been established among all races, and these movements are working overtime to try and cause discord in society. 

[LDSGator]

31 minutes ago, Ironhold said:

Ironically, nowadays you're more likely to see members of certain racial minorities be the most opposed to interracial relationships than the people you'd expect.

Racial supremacy movements have been established among all races, and these movements are working overtime to try and cause discord in society. 

No argument there, but they are also fighting a losing battle. The overwhelming majority of us believe in equality and want to live in peace. 

[prisonchaplain]

On 6/23/2023 at 6:40 PM, Carborendum said:

Tin Foil Hat Time:  I tend to believe that for the past few decades China was secretly bankrolling multiple major studios to create woke content for the US. 

Replace the word "woke" with the word "divisive," and I will grant you the possibility. I doubt that Chinese leadership is savvy enough to realize that woke ideology is horrible. However, they know that gender or race-centric fads will increase division in the U.S. Divide--then conquer. 

[Backroads]

18 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

I really recognize the mom and dad in that movie.  I was born into a culture that thought and talked that way about mingling races.  But the notions mostly died out once all the moms and dads encountered their grandchildren in the offending color, and they all grew up with none of the scary birth defects and mental challenges and everything else people were scared about.  It used to be folks were ignorant and scared, and there wasn't data.  Now, you have to be willfully blind to all the data to remain scared.

I'm a millennial. When I was in jr. high my parents talked about not dating other races because "we just don't!". Within in a few years they couldn't care less.

[Just_A_Guy]

19 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

It's a fine 'love conquers all' movie. 

And *that*, fundamentally, is why Disney is so destructive.  LGBTQ issues are only a symptom, not the root of the issue.

The fact is that love doesn't conquer all (nor, in many cases, should it).  It is subject to all kinds of factors; some of which we can control and some of which we can’t.  People’s inability or refusal to recognize this fundamental truth has been a major source of human frustration and estrangement and misplaced confidence and wasted effort and overall suffering over the last hundred years.

[NeuroTypical]

On 9/17/2023 at 6:48 AM, JohnsonJones said:

I really dislike that this entire idea that we lost Vietnam somehow has come around.  The Goal of the United States in Vietnam was not to destroy Vietnam.  It was not to rule Vietnam.  It was to prevent Communism from dominating South East Asia. 

I can see the logic here, @JohnsonJones. 

Do you also see similar logic at play in our withdrawal from Afghanistan?  Following your line of logic, I sort of do:

The goal of the US in Afghanistan was not to destroy the country or the Taliban.  It was to dissuade further 9/11 attacks by projecting strength and proving to the middle-east that the US was not the "paper tiger" Bin Laden claimed we were.  By the time we left Afghanistan, a good percentage of the population had lost a friend, a brother, a cousin, a parent, a son to the war.  The unspoken message to our current and future enemies was "we're pulling out now, but if you still have any relatives or friends, feel free to grab a few more of our planes, and we'll be back for them next."

 

[LDSGator]

21 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

I can see the logic here, @JohnsonJones. 

Do you also see similar logic at play in our withdrawal from Afghanistan?  Following your line of logic, I sort of do:

The goal of the US in Afghanistan was not to destroy the country or the Taliban.  It was to dissuade further 9/11 attacks by projecting strength and proving to the middle-east that the US was not the "paper tiger" Bin Laden claimed we were.  By the time we left Afghanistan, a good percentage of the population had lost a friend, a brother, a cousin, a parent, a son to the war.  The unspoken message to our current and future enemies was "we're pulling out now, but if you still have any relatives or friends, feel free to grab a few more of our planes, and we'll be back for them next."

 

You guys both make excellent points. 

[prisonchaplain]

20 hours ago, Just_A_Guy said:

The fact is that love doesn't conquer all (nor, in many cases, should it).  

This point is so crucial--and so easy to demonstrate. Most of us recall praying that God would bring a certain cute person into our romantic lives. We were usually very young teenagers and thought we had met the love of our lives. How many of us thank God daily for NOT answering that prayer in the affirmative.