Failing to Dissent
Regarding “Vietnam Syndrome Continues,” by Kai Bird (Opinion, Dec. 13), as a two-time Vietnam veteran, I have to remark that Bird strikes an important chord. When privileged men like the Bundy brothers are afraid to follow their consciences and instead just follow along, what happens to the country? “Going along” with the Vietnam War in order to “remain a player” in the Beltway’s power structure was no virtue for the Bundys, or Robert S. McNamara, or anyone else. As I see it, tens of thousands of Americans died and countless souls were torn apart because men like the Bundy brothers preferred privilege to conscience and pretended that was substance.
Unhappily, this view of rational thinking continues to thrive. It pains me to ponder that such men as these continue to evolve our national policies.
KENNETH WILLIS
Upland
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