Plenty of Morale Teachings and Lessons - Essay Example

The rage of being suppressed kept growing under Diem’s regime and the US government was also in the favor of the rulers; it supported South Vietnam to prevail over its fall to communism. Diem and the Thus were Catholic, whereas most Vietnamese were Buddhists. Despite the Government’s resistance and opposition, more and more Vietnamese got attracted to Buddhism, leaving a sore point between the government and the general public. All this happened, even though there was a complete abandonment of the emergence of an opposition party in the government.

Buddhists wanted to fly their flag on the 2,587th birthday of Buddha but the Diem government not just prohibited it but also took offensive action against the Buddhist demonstrators. The movement witnessed the killing of nine demonstrators but the government never showed any indemnity or took up the responsibility despite U. S. Ambassador William Trueheart's request. Even though the government banned demonstrations; this made sure that the Buddhist crisis began to become revolutionary. The elusive question since the occurrence of the mass movement in Vietnam remains unanswered as there have been several versions of various critiques about right and wrong.

In my opinion, the government could be said to act unjustifiably at most of the happenings. The actions of the government were ignorant even after it was hinted from various channels that the Guerrillas were gaining strength to stand up against capitalist actions. The plight did not end there, the Diem regime saw innumerable unjustified decisions being taken under the influence of its accomplices. The decision of opening fire on Buddhist demonstrators could and should have been averted at any cost to gain respect and make a mark, which was not to be seen.

The press representative had to take up the matter as their morale and they could in no way be accused of doing what they are meant to, especially with the fact that even the soldiers left the battlefield heartbroken for the political injustice that was seen in Vietnam. The moral duty of the press is to bring the facts to the fore and make sure that people get aware of the ground happenings and that is exactly what Halberstam did. In my opinion, the press did what was morally and ethically right in favor of humanity.