Vietnam Wall that is. Coming to the square near you.
They did not reconstruct the WWII concentration camps on wheel. But they did it with Vietnam.
And on June 13th, the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda will release the full version of the Pentagon Papers, originally commissioned by then DoD Secretary McNamara. Portion of the “white papers” was leaked to the press, so the Plumbers were formed to stop the leaks (today’s equivalence of Wiki-Plumbing). Later, their side job was to break in the Watergate (of course, where ever there is water, there is leak). I must give it to them. It was the only time in history when we saw such a well-dressed group of Plumbers. Instead of parading the miniature version of the Watergate building, they chose the Wall instead.
I hope it bring healing to those “deer hunters”, and wipe away tears from Meryl Streep’s types, who must be in their 60’s by now.
Forever scarred and defined by that conflict, which was more internal than external: from school busing to the Great Society and “I Have A Dream” speech. After waving goodbye from Air Force One helicopter, Nixon held up a peace sign (V). Even President Johnson, in his retirement, grew long hair in his Austin ranch. Vietnam brought out the worst in us, in our leaders (a lot of swearing, from “the bitch of the war” (LBJ), to “bastards”(Ford) – after Congress had refused funding for the Vietnam evacuation, per Rumsfeld bio – to the White House wiretaping the Nixon’s campaign promising the Thieu’s government a better deal if elected.
Vietnam still teaches us lessons: Kerry and Cain on the opposing sides of the aisle, Powell’s doctrine (of overwhelming force, entry and exit, or not at all, battle-tested in the first Iraq war), and Senator Jim Webb with his Vietnam’s best writing. Journalists like Woodward and filmmakers like Oliver Stone, all got their baptism by fire.
So the moving wall is coming to town, but don’t expect it to stir up as much as the subject of Vietnam did 40 years ago.
Hell No, we won’t go. Now, living in Canada, these grown men can’t come back.
Ironically, if they decide to backpack to Vietnam from Canada, they can now tour the Cu Chi Tunnel, where their GI counterparts (tunnel rats) barely got out alive.
Vietnam Moving Wall. Haven’t we moved on, from that place of anxiety over Red Scare, to the fear of being overtaken by global competition. It’s a new era defined by creative mind, and entrepreneur, logistic and competitive advantage. It’s soft power and software. Brain over brawn, capital over labor.
It’s so iconic that Michael Jackson’s father came to Vietnam to inaugurate Happy Land construction. He said, “my son had always wanted people to be happy”. So he pitched in, invested, and stood by it. “I’ll be there”.
During construction, perhaps they will enlist help from a few plumbers.
This time, they are asked to stay within their job description: install and up-keep the flow of water for recreational use. No wiki-plumbing or break-in please. It’s Happy Land, where adults can once again have fun, like children, with flowers in their hair.
Thang Nguyen 555 