Thread · HN Continuity

You should learn about the history of that era. Your narrative didn't in any way happen. For instance, the US signed the Paris accords which ended US involvement in January 1973. The fall of Saigon was in 1975. As for the claim, "it was destroying America"...this has no real basis in fact. It was politically convenient to leave Vietnam (much like Trump in Iraq or Biden in Afghanistan), not something forced by foreign policy or battlefield events. Its a myth perpetuated for ideological reasons. Its a bit like the myth that most young people were hippies in 1969 (they weren't) or that Woodstock was an important cultural event (it was made well known by a documentary after the fact).

The draft was very unpopular which is the one issue that the drove the support of the New Left. But after Nixon cancelled the draft, their support collapsed quickly. The war itself was never that unpopular and most of the reporting about it at the time wasn't very insightful (either way). That era is so propagandized because some people really need it to be. Otherwise, far left political movements would all be DOA because people would understand they only lead to losing elections.

And if you need more evidence, look at the results of the 1972 election. It was the 2nd most lopsided election in US history (just behind Reagan in 1984). If the myth were true, that election would have been somewhat close.

PS That era is by far the most propagandized part of US history. What is told to most people who weren't alive then about it has little to nothing to do with what actually happened. I'm not surprised someone would have your take, but its entirely false.