I am starting this blog because it is now precisely ONE year since I have menstruated, making me officially an old woman.It is now time for me to share my wisdom, look out upon the world and say hmmm. Yes. "Well, I remember back in the day..."
Thing is, I DO remember back in the day. And history repeats itself, like the man said, the first time as tragedy and the second time as farce. And so, I will try to remind everyone of what has happened before. Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
We see that now. The anti-war movement of my youth was large, dramatic, exhilarating...but we should always remember that it's strength was due to the DRAFT. It was not due to any moral or political superiority on our part, not by a long shot. Much of the anti-war movement was about the unbridled self-interest of the affluent classes. Once that fear (conscription) passed, and the draft abolished (by Nixon, that shrewd operator), the anti-war/peace movement virtually collapsed. And stayed that way.
What are the so-called "lessons of Vietnam"? Make sure the people fighting your war are people with absolutely no power.