In a 1972 picture taken by Nick Ut, Southern Vietnamese bombers, with support from the United States, struck a village with a napalm bomb. A group of children run away from the village; one girl runs naked, having ripped off her burning clothes. The picture emphasizes the harsh reality of the Vietnam War. The children were thrust into their parents war, the cruel bombings and violent treatment a testimony to American brutality. Many people spoke out against the war in Vietnam and cited the United States’ barbarity as reasons to abandon the war. In his speech, A Time to Break the Silence, Dr. Martin Luther King argues the United States has brought only devastation to Vietnam and needs to stop the Vietnam War.
The war is unnecessarily cruel to …show more content…
King questions the actions of the United States. “What do they think as we test out our latest weapons on them, just as the Germans tested out new medicine and new tortures in the concentration camps of Europe?” (142). King’s use of a rhetorical question points out America’s obvious cruelty in Vietnam. He also compares the United States to Nazi Germany because the United States is invoking the same unprecedented treatment on the Vietnamese as the Nazis did to the jewish people. King suggests America should see the blatant injustice in its actions. The United States shamed Nazi Germany for its inhuman treatment of Jewish people in concentration camps, however the United States is committing similar violence in Vietnam. The United States understands the inhuman way Nazi Germany treated the jewish people, but fails to recognize its own savagery. King goes on to mention America’s purpose. After describing the cruel treatment the United States imposes on the Vietnamese, King says “What liberators!” (142). King uses an ironic statement to repeat the purpose of American presence in Vietnam. His point is the United States hasn’t done anything liberating, but has only caused further oppression for the Vietnamese. The United States originally went to war in Vietnam to protect their freedom, however the war only destroyed the freedom they had before it started. Instead of saving people from an oppressive regime, America contributed to
The war is unnecessarily cruel to …show more content…
King questions the actions of the United States. “What do they think as we test out our latest weapons on them, just as the Germans tested out new medicine and new tortures in the concentration camps of Europe?” (142). King’s use of a rhetorical question points out America’s obvious cruelty in Vietnam. He also compares the United States to Nazi Germany because the United States is invoking the same unprecedented treatment on the Vietnamese as the Nazis did to the jewish people. King suggests America should see the blatant injustice in its actions. The United States shamed Nazi Germany for its inhuman treatment of Jewish people in concentration camps, however the United States is committing similar violence in Vietnam. The United States understands the inhuman way Nazi Germany treated the jewish people, but fails to recognize its own savagery. King goes on to mention America’s purpose. After describing the cruel treatment the United States imposes on the Vietnamese, King says “What liberators!” (142). King uses an ironic statement to repeat the purpose of American presence in Vietnam. His point is the United States hasn’t done anything liberating, but has only caused further oppression for the Vietnamese. The United States originally went to war in Vietnam to protect their freedom, however the war only destroyed the freedom they had before it started. Instead of saving people from an oppressive regime, America contributed to