Men, stress, and Vietnam

Written by Bernie Weisz Historian & Book Reviewer Vietnam War Pembroke Pines, Florida May 19, 2008 e mail:[email protected] Title of Review: "A psychiatrist's view of the Vietnam War" "Men, Stress, and Vietnam" by Peter Bourne is a fascinating book that records Bourne's personal experiences and impressions in South Vietnam from Oct. 1965 to Oct. 1966. Bourne, a psychiatrist, covers areas from his specialty to other branches of medicine, as well as anthropology and sociology. One center of my own concern when I review books about the Vietnam War is to try to find statements that point out our folly in being there in the first place. With Bourne's book, it popped out on page 1. Bourne compares our ill-fated involvement with a fable that Bourne writes: "Once upon a time a fish and a monkey were caught up in a great flood. The monkey, agile and experienced, had the good fortune to scramble up a tree in safety. As he looked down to the raging water he saw the fish struggling against the swift current. Filled with a desire to help his less fortunate fellow, he reached down and swooped the fish from the water. To the monkey's surprise, the fish was not very grateful for this aid". This oriental fable colorfully illustrated the way in which the altruistic efforts of advanced countries to induce cultural changes are frequently viewed by the recipients of their efforts in the underdeveloped nations of this world. This seems to be happening in Iraq now. Blinded by our own intentions, our technologically advanced country is incapable of adequately comprehending any culture but our own (Democracy vs. a Muslim ruled society that for the most part views Americans as "Infidels") and is unable to accept the fact that the changes we seek in Iraq might be inappropriate to a social framework we do not understand. Since the aid we offer is done in a generous and humanitarian spirit, it is difficult for this country to accept our failures or the seeming ingratitude of this Muslim country we wish to help. The involvement of the United States in South Vietnam was a classic example of the kind of relationship that the aforementioned fable warned against. It has led to the commitment of billions of wasted taxpayer dollars and shamefully the waste of more than 58,000 American men and women who lost their lives there. Only rarely mentioned are the tens of thousands of Vietnamese, both North and South, who also lost their lives in that war. In addition, 5,241 dead are rarely mentioned

שנה

1970

שפה

English

הוצאה

Little, Brown

מהדורות

1

עמודים

233

ISBN

9780700001798

מקור הנתונים: Wikidata