American Band-Aid
War: The Response of a Vulnerable Nation
In times of hardship and war, it is evident that people with a strong sense of unity, strength, and character come together against their common enemies. Whether in the holy name of civil disobedience, or under the overtly powerful command of rebellious protest, America’s history overflows with eras of disagreement between its government and its people. War, over all things, has proven itself to be one of the most controversial topics between the government and the governed. Here in the United States, where democracy is policy and where humanitarianism is a fortified pillar of American culture (at least this is true for the latter part of our history), wars have always caused a significant amount of unrest and resentment.
The Vietnam War era was especially notorious for the anti-war sentiments it planted in a vast number of sorrowful hearts. The American people were not psychologically ready to trace another portion of the earth with American blood. Adding more strife to the already dire situation was that a silent(although equally as important) war had emerged within America. This unspoken war was a direct derivative of a revolutionary cultural movement which was brought upon by the onset of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s.
America had to face and manage two extremely controversial wars despite its vulnerability. However, some Americans found a way to use the characteristics of one war to help them overcome the other. Rock singers and songwriters used their music to criticize the war while fans used their idols’ heart-felt lyrics as a means of escape from the troubles of war and as a motivation for the advocacy of a common cause. From then on, rock became a medium of communication and a form of political activism. Americans became aware of their constitutional right to protest and challenge the actions of their government. After all, the United States was founded on the idea that the purpose of any government is to hear, consider, and respond to the grievances of the citizenry. Ultimately, the implications and outcomes of the revolutionary rock movement during the Vietnam War aided in healing the “heartache” of a torn nation, and it helped to emphasize the importance of unity in times of struggle.
Vietnam: Birth of Protest
From Peter, Paul, and Mary: “If I Had a Hammer”
“If I had a bell,
Id ring it in the morning,
Id ring it in the evening,
All over this land
Id ring out danger,
Id ring out a warning
Id ring out love between my brothers and my sisters,
All over this land.”1
In 1959 America entered the brutal Vietnam War. Approximately three million American men and women were sent thousands of miles to fight for what many people felt was a questionable cause.2 Anti-war sentiment did not have a problem with finding its way into America due to the fact that bitterness and sorrow from two world wars were still ripe in American hearts. To make the situation worse, life was still tough for the average Joe, and people remained skeptical of power which made them easily prone to revolt. “If I Had a Hammer” summarizes a very popular sentiment of the wartime era in just a few lines: “If I had a bell, I’d ring out love between my brothers and my sisters all over this land.” All people wanted was peace. Thus, after President Lyndon B. Johnson issued a draft, American youth was ready to rage its own war. American youth wanted simply to live normal lives. They wanted to rock with Elvis Presley in “Hound Dog” and they wanted to live like The Beatles- war would certainly get in the way of the ideal life. From Woody Guthrie to John Lennon, rock ‘n’ roll (and even some folk) singers and songwriters ran to the rescue of the enraged youth by fueling their strong-held belief in peace through self expressionism.3
From John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance”:
“Ev’rybody’s talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism
ism ism ism
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance”4
One very popular song of the wartime era was John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” released in 1969 at the height of the Vietnam War. This song became an anthem of the peace movement.5 The “give peace a chance” slogan turned into a favorite of activists, celebrities, and musicians like Abbie Hoffmann, Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Jane Fonda, and Jefferson Airplane.6 John Lennon and his contemporaries motivated an entire generation of Americans who forever changed the peace movement and the definition of political activism.
Birth of Activism
The Rascals: “People Got to Be Free”
“All the world over, so easy to see
People everywhere just wanna be free
Listen, please listen, that’s the way it should be
Peace in the valley, people got to be freeYou should see what a lovely, lovely world this’d be
Everyone learns to live together
Seems to me such an easy, easy thing should be
Why can’t you and me learn to love one another”7
College students who agreed with The Rascals rallied and protested in Chicago, Washington, and San Francisco. On May 13, 1960, several hundred UC Berkeley students protested the hearings of the House on Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in San Francisco, California. Once the rally turned violent, police ceased the turmoil by blasting the crowds with high pressure water hoses8- in the 1960s, radical pacifism was born. On October 12, 1967, approximately 70,000 demonstrators marched to the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. to protest the Vietnam War. For miles Washington natives could hear the phrases “Hey, hey, LBJ! How many boys did you kill today?” and “Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh! The NLF is going to win!.”9 Approximately three years later, students from the Southern Illinois University in Chicago came together to protest the war and the ROTC program at their university. Once the rally turned violent, the National Guard suppressed the masses with tear gas and armed force which only began an even larger struggle between the right of freedom of speech and the maintenance of national security.10 However, nothing could lastingly suppress the motivated youth which continued to protest no matter how many people were hurt during the rallies. John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” continued to resound in their longing ears until the war’s end.
America The Fittest
Time has told the story of a nation which has had the power to overcome wars, depressions, and revolutions of all kinds which continue to find their places in history. The twentieth century was a time that will always be remembered in America, for it framed the better part of American legacy. The Vietnam War, along with the silent cultural war that resulted from the rock movement, combined at an extremely vulnerable time in American history. However, the rock movement provided a positive emotional outlet for people who were struggling with the changing times. Political activism and advocacy were incorporated into American lifestyles. People became closer to the rights which their constitution guaranteed and they held tightly to the notion of peace so fervently described in the lyrics of the most famous rock singers of the time. Thus, with all-encompassing hope and in the true spirit of unity, a vast majority of Americans were able to come together and fight for a common cause. This strength and determination has ultimately molded American legacy.
The fight was long and hard, but finally in 1975, the last American soldier left Saigon.
Lyrics by Pete Seeger: “Where have all the flowers gone?”
“Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the flowers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the flowers gone?
Girls have picked them every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young girls gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young girls gone?
Taken husbands every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the young men gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the young men gone?
Gone for soldiers every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the soldiers gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time passing
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Long time ago
Where have all the graveyards gone?
Covered with flowers every one
When will we ever learn?
When will we ever learn?”11
1 From Peter, Paul, and Mary’s “If I Had A Hammer” : Lyrics by Peter Seger.
2 The Vietnam War.< http://www.vietnampix.com/intro.htm>
3 Bexte, Martina. “The Vietnam War Protests”. Essortment. 2002. <http://www.essortment.com/all/vietnamwarprot_rlcz.htm>
4 From John Lennon’s abum Live in New York City: “Give Peace A Chance”
5 Playonlyrics.com.Top Twenty Anti-War Song Lyrics. 2006. <http://playonlyrics.com/top_twenty_anti_war_song_lyrics>
6 Bexte, Martina. “The Vietnam War Protests”. Essortment. 2002. <http://www.essortment.com/all/vietnamwarprot_rlcz.htm>
7 The Rascals single ”People Got to Be Free”
8 Jofreeman.com. “Levitate the Pentagon (1967)”.<http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/Pentagon67.html>
9 UC Berkeley Library Social Activism Sound Recording Project: Anti-Vietnam War Protests- San Francisco Bay Area. 31 August 2005. 29 November 2008 <http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/pacificaviet/>.
10 Illinoishistory.com. Anit-War Protests At Southern Illinois University-1960s. 2003 <http://www.illinoishistory.com/katielaux-protestpaper.htm#_Toc57795134>
11 From Pete Seger’s “Where Have All The Flowers Gone”