The Vietnam Veterans Against the War Statement was a speech written by decorated Vietnam hero, John Kerry, and given to the Senate Committee of Foreign Relations in 1971. It is a piece of literary work that leaves the reader in disbelief. I chose this essay because it depicts events and sentiments in our nation's history that are by no means glorious. This speech's theme is that America was better than what she displayed in Vietnam. It does not demean the United States government or the effort given by the men and women fighting. This speech instead targets those who had a moral responsibility and failed to act upon it. The VVAW Statement is a classic American criticism in some respects, but in others, it's a cry to future generations to never allow anything like this happen again.
John Kerry is poetic. The veteran tells of excruciatingly horrible abuses of which American leadership is responsible. He makes strong, stunning points about how the United States has failed to live up to its morals, and offers a first-hand perspective of the nightmarish events of the conflict. As an orator, John Kerry displayed brilliance. The speech he delivered on the Senate floor in 1971 was one of tragedy, culpability, resolution, and hope. To convey such powerful themes, Kerry doesn't hesitate to employ painfully honest rhetoric. He states a clear opinion.
The closing of this work is perhaps the greatest part of the speech. Kerry calls for Americans not to view the loss of life in Vietnam in vain, but instead to see that those men lost their lives to "turn" America. Those men lost their lives to awaken America and help her to realize how far she has fallen. Kerry wants the audience to understand that such a cause is just as noble as winning. Reading this essay was honestly a great experience for me. It's a moral perspective that is sometimes lost when dealing with the late 1960s/early 1970s, and undoubtedly a speech I will recommend reading to anyone with a remote interest in that era.
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