War in Films: Universal Soldier

During the Vietnam War 27 million American men registered for the “Draft”. A American man was required to register for the draft at the age of 18. Men between the ages of 18-26 years old fought in Vietnam unless they were in college or Medically disabled. 80% of the middle and lower classes fought in the war, and about ⅔ of the men were volunteers to fight.

Young men were drafted into war; however, people were able to dodge the draft through various circumstances, conscientious objectors, most prominent being that they were part of a peace church, the government also allowed for those in college to stay and continue their education. This meant that a disproportionate amount of soldiers fighting in the war came from working class families, and so a rift was created between working class and college educated, who predominantly opposed the war. Throughout the 60s anti-war protests broke out, and people would burn their draft cards in the street. That angered those who felt that the action was un-American, and directly combated the struggle of the military personnel across the seas. Nixon, after having won the election in 1968 actively opposed the anti war movement, he even linked dissent with treason, and refused to pull troops from Vietnam. Despite the outcry of voices demanding an end to the war, Nixon and his vice president Agnew sided with the “silent majority” putting those who opposed in a minority, so that when the war continued it appeared as if it were all part of the democratic

This logic led many to flee to Canada or simply resist the draft. Protesters felt that the United States should not be involved in another nation’s civil war especially a war that uses tactics such as saturation bombing, the killing of civilians, and the use of toxic chemicals. David Harris, a draft resister, wrote, “The war was an extraordinarily obvious violation of everything that I had been led to expect from the country I was a part of….when my generation’s war showed up it turned to out to be a propping up of petty dictators so they could keep a good portion of their population in servitude” (Handout page 9). Mass protests occurred all around America. The New York Times wrote about just one protest that had occurred, “A vast throng of Americans, predominantly youthful and constituting the largest mass march in the nation’s capital, demonstrated peaceably in the heart of the city today, demanding a rapid withdrawal of United States troops from Vietnam….There were a number of arrests and minor injuries, mostly the result of tear gas” (Handout page 10). These protesters understood what the war was really doing to America and how immoral our actions truly were, but many others were in support of the war, thus causing a division in the United States.

On August 7th 1964 the United States Congress passed into law the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which, for all intents and purposes, officially brought the United States into the Vietnam War. Following this resolution, a draft was instated to increase the number of men that could be sent to war. Shortly after men started to be signed into conscription for the United States Military, a public outcry started over the use of a draft to increase military size. The draft was found to be unfair to American Citizens because certain groups of men were severely disadvantaged, the draft was illegal in many ways, and veteran’s future lives were harmed, among other reasons.

The Universal Soldier is less of a man or human and more so the idea of every soldier combined as well as the perspective war personified. Throughout the song, the Universal Soldier is referred to as “him” and the songs depict what he is and what he does. The lines 1 and 4 are both representative of the height and age parameters for soldiers in 1961, which supports the idea that he represents all soldiers in war. The lines 22-24 depict him as the armies both Hitler and Caesar have; without both of their armies, they could not have accomplished what they did.

Many people in the 1960s and early 1970s did not understand why the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. Therefore, they had no desire to be a part of it. The Selective Service System, which was used to conduct the draft, had aspirations of directing people into areas where they were most needed during wartime. However, people took advantage of the draft system’s deferment policies to avoid going to war. Others refused induction or simply did not register. There were also people who left the country to escape the draft. The Vietnam War proved to be an event that many Americans did not agree with, and as a result, citizens took action to elude the draft entirely or to beat the draft system.

The anti-war protests of the 1960s was a response of resentment by minorities and young educated college students against the nation’s desire to participate in war against Communism in Vietnam and conduct a military draft. The protests, originally began with peaceful public demonstrations by activists, who were nonviolent; however, the peaceful demonstrators were frequently attacked and victimized by the police and other citizens, who did not share their same opinion. Throughout the peaceful protests the activists suffered many beatings in the hands of the police and as a result, many of the activists claimed the right of self-defense and turned to taking offensive actions against their oppressors including the police and other citizens. Later, the scene of violence and mayhem quickly shifted to college campuses, to which college students began protesting the draft (Gurr, 1989, pp. 183-185). At the time the average age of an American soldier serving in Vietnam was 19 and students quickly rebelled after realizing that young Americans were legally old enough to be drafted to fight and die, but were not yet legally allowed to vote or drink alcohol (UShistory, nd.).

Throughout history, protests have been proven to be the more effective methods of getting a message across, whether it’s to express disdain for the misdeeds of police officers, or to protest the U.S.’s involvement in war. This was seen especially during the Vietnam War, one of the more recent wars this country has been involved in. Many people around the country expressed their opinions about the idea of war, in several forms, including riots, protests, and draft dodging. Along with this form of expression and practicing of free speech, several music artists, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Marvin Gaye, and Edwin Starr, joined in the anti-war movement by conveying their own two cents about the matter through the lyrics of catchy, impassioned songs. In the song “War” by Edwin Starr, Starr attempts to portray his negative view on war, through the use of pathos to create a more intimate bond with his listeners, a very aggressive, yet passionate tone, and the song’s close resemblance of a protest, in auditory form.

Edwin Starr’s War, and John Lennon’s Happy Christmas, demonstrates the catastrophe created by war. Through their songs, the necessity of peace is emphasised for the future of the world. “Oh, war, I despise cause it means destruction of innocent lives, war means tears to thousands of mother’s eyes. When their sons go to fight, and lose their lives.” It is evident that the lyrical terms formulates imagery, further empowering the message. In Happy Christmas, juxtaposition has been implemented to foreshadow the bright future if war is eradicated. “A very merry Christmas, and a happy new year, let’s hope it’s a good one without any fear.” The audience is able to empathise with both of these songs, “war means tears to thousands of mother’s eyes.” This line resonates with people young and old, mothers are considered the backbone, and always guiding their children to a bright path. Someone who gave them life and should always be internally grateful for. Thus, the complete contrast of the message in the song Happy Christmas,

1967 thousands join the anti war movement. In this article it talks about thousands that go to an anti war protest against the conscription of soldiers to join the war. The protesters also

Few Americans that were drafted, however, did attend their injunction. Thomas Yager, Robert Laufer, Mark Gallops, PhD’s in psychiatry, confirmed that men who did attend, experienced several behavioral and emotional problems. Of these that attended, behavioral and emotional problems produced in the men who fought, usually went AWOL (absent without leave) and escaped to Canada through underground railroad tunnels whom were helped by anti-war supporters. Multitudinous amounts of young men attended college to avoid the draft; college students building their future were not permitted to be drafted in the war. Damien de Walque, a Senior Economist in the Development Research Group, believes that, “During the Vietnam War, college attendance provided a strategy to avoid the draft in the 1960’s.” As a result, families that could not afford college, were drafted into the war. College campuses became a crucible for anti-war protests. Students actualized protests against an unjust war at numerous college campuses, conceiving extreme amounts of tension across the nation. Kent State University is the most known anti-war protest college where students set fire to the ROTC building. Several students were killed, even those not involved in the protest. As protests increased, populous amounts of Americans had new judgement to evade the draft. Draft resistance became a day to day thing accumulating the struggle for war to be

The 1960s were a time of revolutionary ideas and new modes of expression. These new ways of thinking and speaking opened the door to major reforms of American society and culture. People were now standing up for what they believed in, for example, protesting against the mistreatment of African-Americans and refusing to follow the Military Selective Service Act, a law which forced men between the ages 18-26 to fight in the controversial Vietnam War (Youth Movement). Not everyone embraced this new attitude that contained a challenge to existing governmental authority. As an expert on the draft, Phillip MacFarlane wrote, “ Some critics decry the loss of the citizen-soldier as a threat to democracy”(MacFarlane). One prominent anti-war figure

The “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan and “Ball of Confusion” by The temptations depict the sociopolitical situation of the United states during the Vietnam war and Nixon’s presidency. Both songs criticize the role of the government in the Vietnam war and the socioeconomic toll it had on the nation. For example Dylan sings “You put a gun in my hand and you hide from my eyes and you turn and run farther when the fast bullets fly” (Dylan, Stanza 2). Dylan claims that the government of the United States have blindsided americans by enforcing patriotic sentiments and putting guns in the hands of citizens. Even though the government encouraged people to go to war, soldiers were mistreated and disrespected upon their return to the United States. Soldiers

In the middle 1960s, every male in America had to register for Selective Service Draft at age 18. He would then be eligible for the draft and could be inducted into the Army for a period of two years. If you were a college student, you could receive a deferment and would be able to finish college without the fear of being drafted. However, once finished with college, a students name would be put to the very top of the draft list and could be deployed at anytime. The anti-war movement was about young men being drafted and then sent into war that most Americans did not believe threatened the security of the US. The Vietnam War was America’s rebellious war, a war without popular support

The Vietnam War was not only a war abroad but also a war at home since many people within the United States believed that we should not be evolved in this war, especially since it was a civil war in Vietnam. One of the main reasons for the unrest at home was due to the draft of young men who did not want to fight for a war that they did not believe in. Many young men age 18 and over were drafted but some of the young men who could afford a higher education were able to go to college and avoid the draft but once they graduated they would be in danger of being drafted so many of the college students were protesting to end the war that they did not believe in or want to go and fight in. (The Sixties, n.d.) As the war crept along the college students protested more and even burnt their draft cards to show their disapproval of the war. The war at home took a bad turn on May 4, 1970 when a group of college students at Kent State started protesting. The governor ordered 750 members of the National Guard to stop the demonstrators. The National Guard troops ordered the protestors to break up and when some of the protestors refused and started throwing rocks the troops fired into the crowed killing four students and injuring nine other students. (Davidson et al., 2005) According to Wells, (1999), “The