"History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce" - Karl Marx
“History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes” - Mark Twain
The Vietnam War
I was at University in 1968 when the politicians and military decided what was needed to "win" the war in Vietnam was a lot more cannon fodder so they ramped up the draft to support a half million strong army in Vietnam.
Then they abolished student deferments.
This left me (and thousands of others) with three options: war, jail, or Canada.
I had decided on Canada if I received a draft notice since the first two options were much worse. Fleeing to Canada would be a life altering disruptive experience but it was the least bad option.
Once they had exhausted the poor and minorities, the politicians decided that they would have a draft lottery to make the draft more "fair". Fortunately, my birthday was selected as a fairly high number which meant that I had only a small chance of being drafted. I was relieved but my friends with lower numbers were not.
The experience of the war years and having to make this decision forever altered my world view.
Years after the war I had a friend who was drafted into the Marines on short notice and sent to Vietnam. I believe he had PTSD. He committed suicide.
This mobilization was the catalyst for more demonstrations. I believe that this eventually helped lead to the abandonment of the war effort... although it took years and the destruction of both Presidents Nixon and Johnson. However, it does not seem to have discouraged the US from inserting itself into new wars around the world.
The war exacted an enormous human cost: estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed range from 966,000 to 3 million. Some 275,000–310,000 Cambodians, 20,000–62,000 Laotians, and 58,220 U.S. service members also died in the conflict, and a further 1,626 remain missing in action.
(I recommend the Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam War.)
The Ukraine War
There are many parallels between the Vietnam war and the war in Ukraine.
What effect do you think the Ukraine War will have on Russia?
Already, international sanctions have had a profound effect on the economy.
Will the mobilization lead to changes in Russia?
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