Living+Room+War

The Vietnam War was the first war to be shown on television. It dramatically swayed the views of American viewers.

** Watching the War ** Occasionally clips from the Vietnam were violent or gruesome, but not as often as people tend to believe. That's not to say gruesome or violent events were never shown. In 1968 viewers witnessed a Zippo Raid where soldiers were shown lighting straw roofs of village huts in a Vietnam community with Zippo lighters. Then in 1972 Americans watched as South Vietnamese troops bombed their own people, mistaking them for North Vietnamese citizens. Clips of this nature were shown briefly and infrequently.

More commonly broadcasts started with a report from Washington D.C. and then highlighted the dedication and hard work of American soldiers while insisting that the war was almost won. Soldiers were commonly interviewed, sometimes during combat. Answers were positive when morale was high, but Americans watched as the optimistic soldiers stopped believing in the war.

** Americans Respond ** For the first time in history, the reality of war was brought right into the living rooms of the people at home. They could see the war as it happended and form their own opinions. Instead of blindly following what news reporters, the government, or politians said, the American public saw raw footage of war.

When morale was high among the soldiers, it generally showed through to the viewers at home. In return the viewers' morale would rise as well. In the same way, as morale sank, so did that of the American public. America soon grew weary of the war. They saw it as an ongoing struggle that pulled fathers, sons, and brothers away from their families instead of a decisive war with an end in sight. Many Americans began to question whether or not there was a valid reason to be in Vietnam. Protest broke out among the Americans. Protesters or supporters were separated into two groups: the Hawks and the Doves.

The Doves promoted peace. For a multitude of reasons (including religious views, political stances, and personal opinions) Doves believed that there was not a good enough reason to be occupying Vietnam. Many believed it was not our war to fight. Doves believed that, while we were opposed to communism, it was not our place to interfere in civil war.

The Doves were directly opposed by the Hawks. The Hawks were a group of people who supported the war. They believed that it was necessary to send American troops to help the South Vietnamese army if America wanted to contain communism. Many thought that America needed to send even more troops and bomb more targets. Oftentimes Hawks were refered to as "War Hogs" because of the violent nature of their stance.

These two groups help rallies and protests defending their views. Sometimes these demonstrations turned violent, causing more problems for government officials to deal with.

Never again were live broadcasts such a big part of the war as they were in the Vietnam war. This was mainly because they governement lost control over how their people convieved the war. Broadcasts allowed the viewers to see dishearted soldiers instead of optomistic fighters. It created unrest on the homefront at a time when support was key.
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