Morality?

Morality?

P. Schultz

June 13, 2012

            I have been having a discussion with a former student as to the morality of the Vietnam War and our nation’s conduct at the end of it. The student has also quoted Shrub comparing our pulling out of Vietnam with the consequences of pulling out of Afghanistan, suggesting that such pullouts were immoral. My response has been, regarding Vietnam, that those awful consequences, “re-education camps,” “the boat people,” and other inhuman acts, could all have been avoided had we as a nation not conducted an imperialistic war in Vietnam, had let the Vietnamese decide their own fate, as FDR said we were going to do after World War II. Of course, FDR did not mean that, nor did subsequent presidents, who were, apparently, obsessed with Marxist Communism – or so they said.

            However, I will add here that arguments from morality, by the likes of George Bush, Bill Clinton, Richard Nixon, LBJ, or even FDR have to be taken with a grain of salt insofar as these people use such arguments like interior decorators use furniture: That is, they move them around to suit their purposes of the moment.

            If you want proof of this argument, just pick up and read a book entitled The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Commission, by Philip Shenon. I cannot do justice to this book here but you will find therein that President Bush – and many others – conspired to impede the investigation into the causes of our failures to prevent the attacks on 9/11 and did so for no other reason than to protect their own power and positions – and the power and positions of the ruling class. It is truly astounding how these men, on both sides of the aisle as we like to say, did what they could to ensure that that investigation would not get to the heart of the matter – and this after thousands of Americans were killed on 9/11.

            So, please, no more arguments by these guys about morality. They have no more morality than, well, Saddam Hussein. And, of course, they were happy to be allies of his when it suited their purposes!