History of Vietnam
The history of Vietnam is one of the longest histories in the world. This country has been through many invasions, interventions; it has been colonized and taken over by other nations for the major part of its history, it even got influenced by the Cold War (Moss, 2010). Vietnam started its history as a part of the Funan Kingdom, famous for sophisticated art and refined architecture (History, 2014). Eventually, it got under the influence of China, France, the USSR, and the USA.
Influences on Vietnam
I think being a person who lived in a country that has always been under the influence of other cultures and nations is very confusing. Being taken over by a European culture was a shock for Vietnamese people. They intended to turn the Vietnamese into Christians, this added to their hostility towards the newcomers. This is why I agree that Chinese domination leads to more tensions with the French from the very beginning. French culture was oppressive for the Vietnamese, so naturally, it was not welcome there at all.
Repeating history
The statement by Cicero, the Roman philosopher, describes exactly the policy of any modern country. All the main issues remained the same, and the politicians of nowadays deal with the same challenges. History repeats itself, people repeat their paths, even if these paths were proved to be mistaken long ago. The passion of a historian is to explore the causes that led people towards making the same decisions and re-living the errors of their forefathers.
Why did we go to Vietnam?
The explanation of the decision the USA made to go to Vietnam is very clear. To my mind, that decision was surely dictated by the recent past of the people of that time, the fear of another massive confrontation, another world’s disaster forced by the eternal fight for influence and power. The American politicians tried to take the situation under control because it tended to become too dangerous.
The French presence in Vietnam
The French presence in Vietnam seemed to be helpful, but the outer side of it did not match the inner side. This “help” resembled a behavior of a not very caring owner, who attempted to adopt a whole nation. “I give you food and education, and in return, you become my property.” The French brought humanitarian goods, yet these goods were directed to create multiple limitations for the Vietnamese population. This mission’s inner purpose was not humanitarian at all.
SEATO and other agreements
SEATO, just like most of the other collective organizations, was created to maintain the balance of powers in the world, namely, to oppose the threat of Communism spreading in Southeast Asia. The West was afraid that another massive war might burst out, so all the agreements were the measures of precaution.
Reference List
Moss, J. D. (2010). Vietnam: An American Ordeal. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall PTR.
History. (2014). Lonely Planet. Web.