In response to Robert I want to say this, most soldiers were kids swept up
in the moment as it fell upon them, most war protesters were kids swept up
in the the moment as it fell upon them. You are very wrong my friend, in
your ass-umption that the peace movement was about drugs, sex, money or
fear. True, after the war ended being a "hippie" and living a hippie life
was for a while a lifestyle many young people followed, seemingly to
decline into a drugged counter culture. However, this was AFTER the war.
The point you seem to miss is that as many people followed their principles
to go to Vietnam, there were as many following their principles to resist
the war in Vietnam. Who was right? that depends on your view of America. If
you believe a citizen is bound to follow the dictates or policies of
his/her government without question as many people seemed to at that time,
then you can feel right. If, on the other hand, you as a citizen feel a
moral obligation under the constitution, to resist all that you feel is
moraly wrong including decisions by your elected officials, then for you
resisting the war was right. Its a great country with a great constitution.
We can be both right and wrong.
As someone whe fervently believes (and I have served in the military)that
war is the will of the strong over the weak and is a crime upon humanity,
that those who chose to go to Vietnam, for the most part, were victims of
the education they recieved both at home and at school at that time.