Politics: Some Really Weird Shit
Peter Schultz
On February 20, 1973, Richard Nixon sent the following note to William Colby as American POWs returned from Vietnam: “As I saw our POWs come off the plane at Clark Field, I was never so proud to be an American. This would not have been possible had it not been for those – like you – who served America with such dedication.”
Perhaps if more Americans had served America with less dedication and more dissent there wouldn’t have been POWs at all. But take note: Nixon, by celebrating the return of the POWs, is celebrating the war and the Americans who dedicated themselves to it. It’s like a magic show. According to Nixon, the debacle in Vietnam is something to be celebrated. Even in defeat, America and her dedicated, virtuous citizens are to be celebrated. That’s some weird shit.
And another moral fable appeared, one in which of course the Americans are the “good guys,” especially those who were dedicated to the war. So, Nixon celebrates the POWs, despite the fact that they represented the failure of the US war in Vietnam. Despite the fact that Communists had defeated the America, Nixon “was never so proud to be an American.” Why would, how could a person feel pride in such a situation? This is some weird shit.
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