Chapter 28

           After reading chapter 28, what really stood out to me most was the picture on page 690. The picture was taken during the incident in Birmingham in 1963, during which Martin Luther King, Jr. launched nonviolent marches, sit-ins, and pray-ins. This act infuriated Police Commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor, who gave permission for his men to attack the nonviolent demonstrators. Although the participants did not physically harm anyone, Connor and his men were armed with electric cattle prods, water hoses, and fierce dogs. The picture of the man being grabbed by the police and attacked by the police dog definitely got to me emotionally as I could sense both fear and determination on the man’s face. This picture is heartbreaking because it reminded me of the time when racism and discrimination got the best of humanity, leading to the heavy mistreatment of multiple ethnic groups, such as African Americans. I am just glad to be living in an era in which different types of ethnicities are appreciated and respected.

            I also have something to say regarding the topic on America’s participation in the endless war in Vietnam. I understand how the domino theory posed as a threat and a logical reason to fight the continuous, no-ending war. However, a part of me feels like the president’s ego and stubbornness also played a part in his reluctance to pull the troops out of Vietnam. A majority of people in the U.S. were fed up with the war because it didn’t look like it was going to end any time soon, and the massive amount of casualties were gradually piling up. But Kennedy did not want to seem like a weak president and wanted a save-face plan. After Kennedy’s assassination, Lyndon Johnson was challenged by the same dilemma: whether to pull out of the war and risk the potential domination of communism or to put up a strong front and continued to the end. Like the Americans during that time, I also felt like Kennedy  or Lyndon should have put out a better attempt at ending the war earlier because the U.S. had lost thousands of lives and billions of dollars. In addition, incidents such as the My Lai Massacre brought so much shame to America and further proved how disastrous and uncoordinated the war was.