What did a soldier get for giving their life in Vietnam? A flag-draped coffin. How much does a flag cost? Back then you could probably buy 8 flags for .99 cents (the small kind) That's the value our government put on our soldier's life.
It does seem that way very often my parents are both veterans and I was raised a certain way. When my son wanted to join the Army it threw me hard. I see what war does to people who come home. And what the government doesn't do. Very confused about it all. Edit: I am not commenting on consumerism, I will support my son who is a man and can make his own decision, and I can see both sides of this issue clearly. Also I'm American and I can say anything I want.
@@trentdawg2832 Not back then. They were made in the USA in US factories. Back then we got lots of inexpensive things from Japan mostly household items and pocket size transistor radios about the size of a pack of cigarettes. They were good products not cheap junk like we get from China.
That's on purpose. Those at the top of the pyramid benefit from the way our society is structured and how our institutions function. They have no intention of letting the anger and frustration of the "little people" get in the way.
Quite a bit has changed, it's just what you're seeing here, is the general ignorance and frustration of the average US citizen, which, yes sounds the same today as it did 50 years ago. Oh yeah and the model of the MIC dictating our foreign policy while puppet politicians try to sell some kind of trickle down myth concept, that's pretty intact as well. Meanwhile, most other aspects of our society have have been turned on their head, and that whole model I just described, it was brand new at that time, Eisenhower warned that it was going to happen, and after an extremely turbulent decade, when this film was made it had just locked into place, now it's chugging along. As I always say, if you want to be less like the people in this movie and more like the 1%, save your money and BUY DEFENSE!!!
@@AsWellYouShould I was speaking in terms of government manipulating us into useless wars and lying to us about the reasoning. In other words I was speaking in regard to the exact topic of the video. Look below. I guarantee you you will see very many people making similar comments to mine that nothing has changed. It seems other people understand that when you make a comment you're usually talking about the specific topic of the video. Not sure why you're going off on a tangent about obesity and depression... but hey whatever floats your boat
If he really felt that way, he and the rest of the Silent Majority have sided with the civil rights and anti-war demonstrators. They valued "tradition" and "decorum" more than reform in the US.
unfortunately there will always be ignorant people who haven’t learned from history or the past. we just have to always remember to be kind to people we disagree with and challenge their way of thinking in a friendly way
My father served in Nam. He always told me when he got back, the bloodshed and destruction made him question which way is up. Well I joined the Marine Corps in 2003 because I was a kid just trying to get some structure in life. When I returned from the conflict overseas I too was questioning “which way is up”. Now I fully understand my late father and it is truly remarkable to say the least. Great video! Thanks for sharing as always. 🤠
It’s sad that it takes that much violence, trauma and bloodshed to make one question which way up is. I never went to war, I could see from a young age it was a stupid endeavor waged by the rich, fought and paid for by the poor. Why is that soooo hard for people to see? The propaganda is so obvious! Doesn’t take a genius to see a con.
It's definitely a rude awakening joining the military and getting out, realizing military time served was just part in contributing to the war machine that controls the world entire for those in power to benefit. Sure, there is benefits for those that served, but not to much especially when those that are homeless. Sometimes those that benefited more try to justify that veterans that didn't aren't smart enough to take advantage of their benefits. That culture of "winners and losers", compared to those with or without power, also plagues our military service community unfortunately. Too many times I've seen veterans being nice only those who are well off, but not those sitting in the streets struggling. Anyways, I'm rambling a bit here.
I joined the Army the same year. Ever since coming home from 2 deployments I feel the same you do. Unforturnalty it's impossible to go back to sleep. Sometimes I wish I could.
That guy talking about getting hit with a piece of metal that said “GM”, that really got me. I imagine the feeling of betrayal. Supposedly fighting for your country while your own country is fighting you.
yeah, it reminded me of the opening sequence of Ironman 1 where tony gets the shrapnel in his chest from his own bomb. But its more interesting hearing about that scenario from someone who actually lived it way back then. Really highlights how art imitates life.
@@americo9999 it’s the same game, with a different name. It’s not the “Republicans vs Democrats”. It’s the “Rich vs The Poor”, “The Have’s vs the have-nots.” Republicans have their base convinced they’re part of “The Have’s” and that they have to defend their country against the “have-nots” who are taking all their jobs away! Democracy literally means ruled by the masses. When the masses are poor, you have “Ruled by the Poor” Im not anti-Democrat and I’m not anti-rich but I think we need a balance. The United States cannot be solely for the rich people. We’ve tried it their way with “trickle down economics” It’s time to grow this country from the bottom up.
You idiots keep voting for the same idiots every generation, so nothing has change. I watch the “majority” vote 3x for Bush War policy politicians, finally Obama got elected and the “majority” attacked and mocked him
The magic of the “Silent Majority” in current vernacular is that they are neither of those things. It’s now a cliché appended to arguments by people with crap positions.
@@Jiidwag You saw the last "election", and you still think voting is gonna change anything. We aren't voting our way out of this bullshit, that should be obvious.
I'm a Marine corps Iraqi war combat veteran and watching this shows me exactly how much hasn't changed. These people are telling us exactly what we would also discover going to war in the 2000s. It's amazing
LOVE this video, I love how none of them didn't mention which newscaster or network said something. This was life before Cable Corp. News. They all had the own solid common sense opinions.
I had a friend who's father was a Vietnam vet. He was a Ranger, and he suffered a variety of health problems due to his exposure to chemical elements during his tours. He was very kind to me, but (this is in 1992) you could tell there was a general unease to his overall mental health. I got on with him pretty well, but he told me stories that were so gruesome they untied my shoes. I would sit and listen to him because I thought it was helping him to have someone to listen to him. I never judged him for it, as far as I could tell he was still a believer of the effort, and I never argued with him (mainly out of respect for him, I never felt threatened by him). I lost contact with him years ago, but I think of him often and how that war stole his mental health (he had repeated breakdowns I was not present for, but his daughter told me some horror stories).
Hello BishopLake, Id like to ask you about some details about how Nam affected your friends father, physical and mental long term effects for a book Im writing, would you drop me a line? If I hear back I will give you my contact info- thank you in advance
I have no doubt that you made a world of difference for the man. He likely shared things with you that he felt he couldn't share with anyone else. My husband's uncle was a Vietnam vet, and it haunted him, too. He passed away some time ago, now, so hopefully he's finally at peace. I know it would have helped him to have someone to confide in, too. You did a good thing for your friend's father.
Good grief .. talk about flashbacks! I feel like I was back at my parent's house discussing this around the dinner table. Not one thing has changed in all my 73 years here on this planet. While we're all here still jawin' about it, thems whuts behind the curtains are also still pulling all the strings for us.
David Hoffman, you have continuously lived out an amazing life of learning while practicing your vocation of documenting so many social events and meeting so many interesting people from every walk of Life! Thanks for (your) continued passionate diligence to documenting Life as it is sir!
I very much enjoyed watching these people being interviewed expressed their compassion for the other side and not just for Americans. They cared about peace and thought of others that don't look exactly like them as humans.
@@Surfwtw There are some people in this video that come off as probably racist and supremacist. The silent majority who Nixon spoke of were pro-war and against the counter culture.
@Theodoric Vand I agree. White people of the past did what litterally every other people of the past did. Technology just allowed them to do it a little easier I think. But prejudice and ignorance is a human trait. Or maybe I should say it is a trait that comes from tribalism.
@Stephanie Windler No it absolutely is the medias fault. It's called sensationalism and they are legally aloud to portray events in whatever version they want to. Basically, If the event did happen, they can use the material to project the news, but it comes from their own perception of the events, not what actually happened, constantly breaching impartiality rules. Think about it this way, if the news REALLY wanted to report events, why do they have to commentary it and explain it to you, are you not a thinking creature and are you unable to formulate your own opinions on the matter? Why do they feel the need to explain events ,AS THEY SEE IT, and shove it in your face as "fact" when, it's literally an opinion. Stop thinking of the News medias as your friends, they want your viewership in anyway possible and the fact of the matter is, in current society with many many independent journalism on the internet, people are starting to look away from traditional news. But also, make no mistake, they are a part of the government entity, because the government also relies on them to convey their own messages as well as to "prove" what they are doing to handle the situations. There is no transparency, most of our heaviest news outlets arnt even subjected to the law set by FCC for distribution of false regulations, because they broadcast on free and public platforms and it would infringe on the 1st amendment right. "Fox News (as well as CNN and MSNBC) is not an accredited news station because no regulatory body exists in the United States that has the authority to make such a classification." Man....just fucking watch "Sugar" by SOAD, pretty much sums it up in a pretty simple way. The absolute one thing I truly admire about Trump was, hate him or love him, he was the first president to actively engage with the people on a whole new platform, that has never been done before. Instead of a speech made for him to say Infront of the press, he said it himself on social networks. That takes balls to speak your mind, especially being in a leader position to a country, and saying it to your face. Whether you like what he had to say is a different matter.
@Stephanie Windler idk what country you live in but I can tell you as a non American 🇺🇸 citizen the whole world does pretty much think the US is a bunch of racist selfish jerks… HOWEVER.. I think most blame & believe that about the US government, not the people It can be ok to play the victim, when you actually are a victim A VICTIM OF THE U.S SATANICAL GOVERNMENT AAAAAAAHHHHHH 🤪😵💫 😹 jk sorry guys my husband listens to way too much crazy right wing propaganda 👀😅 (& we don’t even live in the U.S 😐🤦🏼♀️😶🤦🏼♀️) if I don’t joke about it I might go insane 😳🔫🙈🙈🙈
David, this is and absolute treasure. These voices have cried out for so long, now they are heard again. Three silent majority is able to think. To be compassionate and to dare to question. My heart feels so full when I hear people express doubts. To never question authority is to give too much power away. It allows absolute power to exist and to corrupt. Thank you for making it possible for me to experiance history like this.
Bush: lots of MSM and public war criticism Obama: no MSM and public war criticism Trump: no MSM and public war criticism Biden: no MSM or public war criticism
Born in the late 70's and raised in the 80's I can honestly say I miss these type of people in my life. It was such an easy and more realistic view on life back then. People seemed to honestly care more about their fellow men and woman.
I totally agree. People back then, that generation of mostly middle-aged, middle-class folks did not have the Aire of self-importance and aggrandizement. They were not presumptuous but quite fair and reasonable in their approach to people around them and concerning issues in the World at large. They had more intelligence then than average middle-aged middle class schmoe today.
@@rainmancw9022 born in 73 also, and people, especially those who claimed they earned every penny in life are the most immoral lot. I remember when as a child the elderly were much more nice and caring and genuine. I feel sorry for todays young kids.
True words👍. 1971 Southside Chicago Auburn Gresham raised. The entire neighborhood was connected in some way. My entire block was independent small business people. Independent t.v. repairman,locksmith,tailors,mechanics,mostly all service men. Segregated Chicago was very organized believe it or not. We fought in the streets but they are reasonable in this video. Shout out to the G.A.Y. oh Chicago 🙏✌
"Why do we have to be the policemen of the world? " That same statement could be said today with the same meaning. This whole document is relevant today.
Because we were the only one capable of protecting the weak. You can take that on a geo-political level or a moral level. Think about it some. I don't use that cliché' any more.
It's why your country was and is so worthy. You are the pimp, pushing your printed greenbacks on to the world. Looking like things are changing, which is scary 😨
Well if Americans don’t trust the motives of their own government, then how on earth do you expect the voting public of allied nation to do the same thing without any consultation? Nonetheless the USA has always had some form of allied support.
I love these old interviews! People actually talked face to face and listened to each other and were respectful even if they didn't agree. Now people hide behind their screens and call each other Nazi's or Commies.
You can still have some good conversation at bars, coffee shops, bookstores, etc. As the pandemic winds down we’ll have even more of this… folks are hungry for it.
I know this will sound weird or rude, but I couldn't stop smiling throughout the vide. It's amazing how these people talked and had different viewpoints. Thank you Mr. Hoffman
Robert i think it's really both sides of the media at fault. Both of them try to divide us all and hate each other rather than being respectful and open mineded
@@Dakotako the people being interviewed are aware of being divided in an effort to prevent an overwhelming majority consensus. As so many before have said “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” 😞
@@Dakotako Fox is terrible and no they aren't better. They actively let their anchors lie about what's going on so they can keep us scared and fighting between ourselves. They take orders from Trump and he and the GQP are dangerous to America.
At the end of WW2 we supported the Vietnamese. We helped them start their government. France wanted it back and told us if we got in the way they would join Russia at the start of the cold war. We went from saving Ho Chi Minh's life to bombing him.
If people talked to each other about these issues, many of us would realize we're not that different after all. This polarization has made us hate each other. This is what dooms us.
This is amazing footage. And wow, our collective communication skills, our ability to have rational dialogue, has really taken a steep nosedive over the past 50 years. American society has been dumbed down because, as evidenced here in this video, people are having logically sound arguments; you understand where each person is coming from. We don’t make the time to really think and have conversations anymore like this, and it’s sad.
“We have to respect each other opinion” This quote really said a lot to me personally because the mindset was let’s come to an agreement and be able to work together. I don’t mean to sound dramatic, but the average fellow college student I meet is not interested in finding an agreement or working together. Ideas are being viewed more as morally correct or morally wrong. The goal is often to dominate a space and show how “correct” an idea is
@@checkyourhead6467 oh sure. I also know how much money Prescott Bush gave to the cause as well. And what else? I know that while the Reich did not “win the war,” the interests that were backing them all along most certainly took their ideology underground and managed to propagate it right up to the present day. Top-down technocratic panoptikon control grid is well in place as of 2021. Only a matter of time now before comments like this will be expunged. Followed shortly thereafter by those who utter them. I just hope there’s enough time for me to put the finishing touches on my ark.
@@brazenlancer9484 the middle east wars left it broken instead. Iraq, Syria, Libya are all still a mess today. But I do agree that the guy said "east" not middle east. I don't think he was talking about the middle east back there.
Julia Hesselbrock watch Europa the last battle on bitchute eyeopening watch Barbara lector Spectra talk on the immigration of Europe and the Kalergi plan include that in your research
I'm a veteran of the fighting in Ramadi back in '05-'06, then back again in '07 and this is so frustrating. We had learned nothing in the 35 years since this was filmed. Of course I learned about political unrest around Vietnam, but that older lady who had lived through the big wars and probably saw the men in her life go off and come back in various pieces, if at all, really reached through time. I saw all the mothers of my friends who were killed and wounded in her. When are we ever going to learn
The face value metric of war is always the intended result of war regardless of what the narrative of the day is. But fear not, Increasingly as a method to reduce the male population as well as to ensure the consumption, rather then the accumulation of wealth war cannot be directly used towards this end. I has become dangerouseven to those who wage it... It was a comfortable, large group of free men That created the western world and America. Controlling the pitch, pace and temperament of generations? For over 10 thousand years (yes even in prehistory) the fate of the world was in the hands of a tiny crust of dominant families. Now for the past 500 years the projection of force gave rise to "live and let live." This is what is not allowed to persist.
The gov't is into population control. But they are learning war is expensive and messy. So now they are killing people with lock downs and shots. Using Big Pharma to pull off mass genocide via bioweapons. They also poison our air, food and water. They are nice enough to give most Hospice Care a few months before death.
We are never going to learn so long as people in power see those not in power as dispensable. We live in a corrupt world...corrupted by human wickedness.
Back when Americans thought critically about things and weren’t propagandized by corporate garbage from Fox News and CNN. Really sad to see the disintegration of intellectualism from that time until now.
@@mikuspalmis The draft was implemented during the Vietnam War, men had no choice , it's why draft dodging became a thing. People did all kinds of things to get out of being sent to war, some ran to Canada others faked mental illness, my uncle knew a guy that got drunk and threw himself into traffic to break as many bones as possible so he couldn't go. Luckily, my family has a hereditary blood disease and my dad couldn't be sent, I may have never been born.
David, Thank you. You have brought back my memories of this time. Memories of watching my parents reading draft numbers in the local newspaper every Friday, hoping my older brother's number did not show up. Memories of my father, a lifelong Republican, speaking in scathing terms about his own party's election of Nixon. My father worrying about the money we sent overseas to buy approval for the US actions. Thank you.
50 years later and I'm living in Saigon, in the middle of the former Tan Son Nhut U.S. Air Base. The famous photo of people climbing a ladder on a rooftop to board a Huey helicopter was taken just 4 miles from here and the building is still there. It's now shadowed by Vincom Center, a modern shopping mall. You can see and feel the history everywhere in the city but time marches on. Thanks for the upload, David. I love all your videos, especially the ones about Vietnam and the 60s and the 70s.
I’ve been to Saigon 4 times,it’s like NY on steroids! But I love it..need to get back if they ever start issuing Visas again!Im sure the local businesses are suffering without tourists..at least some are
Self determination, a concept that we seem to value for ourselves, but not for many others. Excellent work, David. These are just real people and their voices are never heard. Politicians who make the big decisions avoid people like these. And how many Americans know about the mutiny going on among enlisted men at that time?
Nothing changes under the sun. Thank you for your documentaries. This generation needs to see how things weren't that different back then. Take out technology and it's pretty much the same.
@Bill Sbac but ironically keeping the rich rich in america keeps the poor richer in the long run. If in the 70s there was a revolution we would be like mexico.
@@aurtherbrunt241 it's like basic drawback to living in the english speaking world. Every person I've met from Australia, UK, New Zealand everyone is always so sure how their country is the best out of them all when we're around each other. (my experience stems from multiple trips to Thailand) . . Edit: one thing we can all agree on though, Canada is at the bottom of the old commonwealth totem pole
@@patjohn775 surely you're not trying to elude to "trickle down economics" (shakes head in true disappointment)? Are you? Because that does not work, nor has it ever worked the rich don't "trickle down" they reinvest, as anyone should when they gain the means.
@J Breeze How can you say she did LSD? Not everybody did drugs like people like to think. I was about her age then and several of my high school friends were in Vietnam including my husband. One of them died over there and his name is on the wall of the Vietnam memorial. My husband came home safe, but he never talked about it and had nightmares for a long time. The only thing he said about Vietnam was that it was a beautiful place and it was ashame it was being destroyed. When the soldiers came home they would travel alone on commercial flights. They would be in uniform and they would be cursed and spit at as they were walking through the airport. They were soldiers that had served where they had been sent. They were not the enemy. They were not baby killers. They were not flag burners. They didn't burn their draft cards. They were called and they went. Some were seriously injured, but all of them survived a nightmare which followed them in their dreams. Over 50,000 never came home.
@Yasta Yildirim It is the voice of sadness and fear for others, not an afterglow. She's a young woman growing older and wiser sooner than expected. That was part of my generation not counting the ones who dropped out of society and tried to build their own world. Most of us weren't protesting in the streets or colleges. We had jobs and families and tried to make sense of the senseless.
This film is gold... You could take many of the subjects from this & they wouldn't even recognize their own former views if shown. It's just like finding an old year book with notes. Some people are the same & some are completely 180° from the very life they had lived & the views they formed up to that point... Great to see how engaged & rational most were.
My father was in Vietnam, took him 30 YEARS before sharing stories. War changes you, & it affects your kids. Only when neccessary should war be an option. Dad is still alive today & now his grandson (my son) is an "Electric Strawberry" 21st Infantry EXACTLY like my dad was (& that wasn't my son's Choice) but I fear he'll be led down a similar path... you can only hope and pray it's for the right reasons.
I beg to differ. The discourse back then, compared to now, was radically different. Positions were argued, yes, but with respect (for the most part). And the wisdom on display in this film - with a few exceptions - is seldom found today. The divide between right and left in the US, to these eyes (I’m not American), has never been greater. The Trumpists have destroyed all rational discourse.
This is truly a very good documentary. I hope that documentaries such as this is added into OUR AMERICAN HISTORY lessons. American children need to know about the ins and outs of the Vietnam war and all the other wars. They are our future. When I'm 80 if I make it that far I want people in office that's going to make a difference not ones that will tear America apart. To stand for the United States not let it fall
I see so much ‘soul’ in this documentary. The 20th century really was the American century. When we capture the feelings and yearnings of the people who lived during these times, we can kind of feel the soul of America. This is how I feel at least.
People don't talk to each other this way anymore. It seems like they all had more understanding and empathy for people who thought differently. Now we just demonize people and call them villains
@@TheHardys01 I didn't make any comment on whether what they believed was right or wrong. You projected that onto me. That's on you. I simply said they had a more decent way of dealing with one another. And while we are on it, YOU are the one who took one outlier and tried to make it seem as if everyone thought how she thought. The overwhelming majority clearly said that the war was wrong and didn't serve the people. Work on your listening skills
@@TheHardys01 once again...you only focused on one woman's comment. I listen to ALL the words. People in general were questioning authority and the story they were being told about the war. Proving that the president was wrong about the silent majority supporting the Vietnam war. They spoke up and out against the official story. That's admirable and worthy of praise. Also your comment is a logical fallacy. It is possible to praise the way a message is delivered without focusing on the content. Your "all or nothing" approach reveals a shocking inability to seperate the message from the messanger.
@@TheHardys01 that was not said at all. You're looking to be angry. If THATS what you took away from listening to all the voices here then heaven help you. I very clearly heard many of the interviewees saying that people in Vietnam were owed self determination and respect even if they wanted something different than Americans. That they were entitled to the own government and their own ways of living. If all you heard and focused on was one voice and decided to paint everyone with the same brush than perhaps you need to reflect on your mindset
Empathy Nowadays we hate the “other” so much, we won’t listen to a word from them It makes us weak It emboldens the ruling class We used to have integrity 😔
America has dumbed down phenomenally over the years. All these people make so much sense. They sound so well-informed and level-headed, with their thinking faculty intact. It's a treat to hear them talk.
@ Ryan The rich do not fight since manipulating the poor and men with a low IQ has been spectacularly successfull . McNamara was not a pioneer! [MacNamar was Sect. of Defense during the Vietnam war. His IQ cutoff was 81, Many draftees had trouble doing basic task]
Yeah and Woody Guthrie was an isolationist until Nazi Germany broke the nonaggression pact with the communists and invaded the Soviet Union, then he wanted us in the war in Europe. Commie stooge, him and Pete Seeger both.
What's really touching about this doc is the way people with differing views are able to hold a civil discourse. Sad that that's no longer possible. The forces of divisiveness have won and the people have lost.
I am surprised at these views. I was a teen in 1970. It seemed to me people then liked go stereo type others. Those "hippies and or "trouble makers " were against the war and that the silent majority were pro Nixon and pro war. Apparently that was far from the truth. Things have not changed in America. Those that are most vocal get the most publicity but that may not represent all the people or the truth.
Great interviews. I do suspect though that the interviewers unwillingly gravitated to more respectful and humble personalities when approaching people. Naturally these types of people would be more anti-war and less blindly obedient. Might have been plenty of obnoxious drum-beating people that gave brief angry incoherent interviews that wouldn’t have made the final cut
I'm glad that you and your colleagues were driven to collect these words and images. If we can remember lessons learned yesterday, we at least have a fighting chance to build a better tomorrow
I think you make a damn good point. Unfortunately history isn't taught properly in schools anymore. You're essentially saying learn from the past so we don't make the same mistakes, that way we will build a better future.
@@douglasdixon524 yes, that is exactly what I meant 🙂 watching old episodes of Crossfire is cool, but the guests Buckley had on were also already established enough to have been invited on to argue broad concepts. These are regular people, passionately debating about the impacts something had/is having and what that looks / feels like on a more human level.
True. But don't kid yourself that we are any less ignorant right in the here & now. Just different buzzwords, with agendas & narratives that sound like they are intelligent and virtueous. But they are just as false and corrupt. When will we ever learn..... 😢
At the end of the cold war there was the idea of the peace dividend based on the idea that there was no longer the big threat so no need to keep building up our armament That lasted about 30 seconds It scared the shit out of the military industrial complex Any excuse for continuing to build massive amounts of weaponry had to be found And we did
@@dionysusnow it's been a few years since I've read this book about WWI, one part discussed manufacturing and finding money for all the millions of tons of equipment you need. i think france, uk, and germany all had different ways of financing the war. point is i remember reading that war profiteering was a huge issue and it went through various changes as the war went on. but at least a few of the countries tried to prevent a massive war profits.
Thirty years later you have Donald Rumsfeld talking about trillions of dollars not accounted for in the pentagon on sept 10th 2001. Think about how much just 100 billion could do for poverty.
@@GallowayJesse meritocracy is murder. The little beleevees of the haves informs the deservees of the have-nots. At over 2 acres per person on earth yup it is a choice of getting disenherited at birth by the haves.
Because they are in person and being filmed. You can still find videos of modern people talking like them. It’s just not as fun, so it doesn’t get recomended
@@yucol5661 people today are far more judgemental. It's become acceptable to call someone a racist, xenophobic, etc etc, the moment you don't agree. People don't have social skills.
@@panjandrum.conundrum Are you brain-dead or brainwashed? Both? A huge swath of this country is fed up with the government and the number is growing. They are absolutely not the "only entity" that can provide those things either. We are vastly advanced technologically compared to the 70s and there are infinitely more innovative ways to provide those things better than a corrupt, self-serving government. Open your eyes...
@@JS-bu5oj Those other entities can(debatable) provide those life or death things for an exorbitant fee. Look at big pharma. I don't trust corporations to give me clean air. Open your eyes. I grow tired of your type pretending that a decades long process of 'innovation' (paid for by the taxpayer btw, these innovations happen at universities) to make products inexpensive is a good selling point for a society without government. Did you see the lack of ppe equipment manufactured at the start of the pandemic? Have you observed the vulnerability of global supply lines? We need a representative, centralized institution to address the problems and grievances of society.
@@rsync9490 Just say you have no idea what you're talking about. It's a lot faster than that novel-length reply that ignores endless examples that prove your entire assertion to be nonsensical drivel.
My grandfather would cut articles and pictures out of the newspaper before he let my grandmom and his daughters read the paper. My uncle came home but he never really came home.
@@crankyoldperson6871 after her brothers suicide my mother never talked about her brother with her parents ever again. No one did. Eventually the sisters all just told people their brother died from war injuries.
So powerful. This conversation is repeating today. I’d love to see and update. There was so much talk about the Silent Majority since the end of 2020. Together we are 💪
@@Kevin_Carlson That's how it's ALWAYS been.....WE realize it but fail to act on that knowledge! Fun fact.....There were about 6 Billionaires in the United States in the 1960's.....There are 614 Billionaires as of 2020. There were about 192 Billionaires in the 60's Worldwide....There are about 2,750 now! The Rich got Richer, The Middle class became poorer and the Already Poor are being thrown in jail.....which sadly is making people Rich!
Especially with poverty. Texas is trying to make it illegal for the homeless to camp in Austin, and are trying to fine and jail the homeless for simply being homeless. It's crazy
@@jazzb3371 So, you take the homeless, who have no money and fine them? A lot of good that will do. Then you jail the homeless who could not pay the fine. The only benefit here is that Texas will have to foot the bill for feeding the homeless and providing health care. Maybe not a bad idea at all. Let Texas know that Debtors Prisons were outlawed in the U.S. in the mid 1800s. That form of punishment does not work.
@@H.pylori Texas and every other state get federal funding for every day they have someone in custody. Those federal funds are profits for the privatized corporate jails and prisons. Where I live, the judges that run the "drug court" program own all of the rehab centers they sentence people too. What ever happened to conflict of interests?
I'd like to see a film of French citizens in the 1950's talking about the war in French Indochina. A little different because it was French territory, but I'd still like to know if they thought it was worth it or not to take it back after WWII.
Very moving again, Mr. Hoffman - thanks so much. It's striking how practical and common sensical, not 'ideological.' these folk all are. Also how empathetic both with wounded and killed Americans and with their Vietnamese counterparts. We seem to have been a better people 50 years ago.
I was alive then and developed my strong opinions and it's so sad, what I was saying then and what the rest of the populace was saying about "our" government still holds true today. All my life of 67 years has been one corporate generated war after the other!
This is what happens when war profiteers becomes so powerful that they can control the government to the point where they force the elected officials to go to war so they can charge the government more and more money for weapon sales.
@@madashell7224 Hi MadAsHell! Thanks for your cogent insight! I think too just because someone has an opposing view, I mean I was shouted down many times during the Vietnam War. Even the father of the host family I rented from while attending vocational school in a big city kicked me coldly out of their home, told me firmly "the sooner you leave the better", and all because I disagreed with the war in a very polite and diplomatic manner and was going to vote for George McGovern. We are oppressed and right about this "military industrial complex" and really we are people who care very much about our country if it only could not be our country is the reason for so much destruction in the world. The United Nations recently hired a survey company to ask internationally the question, "What country in the world do you feel is the greatest threat to world peace?" The huge majority said the USA. I also believe NATO should be dismantled, war machine international.
@@mwj5368 Nevermind. I looked it up. The survey has been done annually since 2018, and it was because of Trump. They literally said so. It also said it went up 14 pts when Biden took office, due to what they called The Biden Effect, so it got 14 pts better. I had a feeling that's what it was about.
Does "Eight flags for 99 cents" refer to the cheaply made miniature US flags everyone buys for the 4th of July that are made in China? Seems like a possible metaphor for what's been going on for decades.
He's referring to the value that government put on Vietnam vets lives by the cheap flags could buy for 99 cents...to put on their coffins....that's my take .Aussie boomer here
These videos are such treats Mr. Hoffman...I love hearing these voices from the past. Even at age 49 it is still both amazing and a little unsettling for me to realize the idealistic young guys in this videos are now senior citizens. Some people think we haven't moved forward much but I think we have because of guys like that.
Russian people have been through Hell and back. Russian history goes back to more that thousand years, we’ve been through many wars and genocide. The US is still a very young country..
@@vkrgfan the US is made up of people from nearly all the peoples of the world including Russians and believe it or not we can read history books and we do still talk about old times a lot of us fled Russia and Nazi Germany and Vietnam and all kinds of misery. People are still doing it today, our nation is young but our peoples are not.
Thank you for this documentary, David. the 'silent majority' certainly put things into perspective when asked. Isn't it just crazy how so many decades have passed us all by, yet the same continues & that issues lacking, such as housing, poverty, proper medical care, etc., still do not take precedence the world over. It's very sad to say the least.
I think these were all interviews that a small film crew conducted in the Chicago District of Spiro Agnew? Or at least Spiro Agnew‘s congressional district, if I’m not remembering Chicago correctly (chosen due to his use of the “silent majority” tag to suggest that most Americans were in support of the war in 1970) …all those accents from people living in the same general area, But the upper Midwest has always had some great accents to be sure, ha ha … those particularly, I agree, have become much more homogeneous- east coast accents are amazing too, such distinct speech in practically every nook from Boston to Baltimore…
@@scottyj6226 Yes that has been a major cause of accent homogenization. Also schools intentionally educating children in specific accents as the 'correct' way to speak. That happens all over the world too though.
People used to mostly listen to TV and radio that was local and generally spent most of their time speaking to other people from their region who had lived in that region for generations. You didn't leave your state, and your regional accent was a part of yoour identity. Nowadays, globalised mass media has homogenised American accents.
Thank you Kris for your comment. Please consider joining the David Hoffman TH-cam Community to receive daily photo posts and monthly entertaining and provocative Livestreams. Click the join button on my channel homepage - upper right corner. David Hoffman Filmmaker
Truthfully, there are multiple silent majorities. People don’t think the same way about everything. Regardless of which side of the political spectrum that you’re referring to, people with the most extreme and radical views tend to be the most vocal, while people with more mixed and nuanced views tend to be drowned out.
This really hit me. I was in the middle of it- trying to understanding what was going on. I had a close boyfriend who was in the Marines, 17, dropped out of Harrison High in 11th grade..very smart parent's killed in car accident & raised by his aunt & uncle ..he was 17 .. exactly like the movie Platoon... shot in the head & killed by a sniper.
the unfortunate thing is that i understand how they are feeling, but the reality is that a lot of them even the soldiers who were in Vietnam didn’t know what the communist govt in the north was doing. Much of what americans (right or left) knew about North Vietnam was filtered through propaganda. My family and millions of other suffered heavily when the North re-invaded after America pulled the majority of its troops out. Your films bring a whole new wonderful perspective I love watching them daily!!
The north committed their fair share of atrocities but in both vietnam and korea, the majority of atrocities were committed by the US backed side, or by US forces themselves
@@narcocastillo3783 and you are saying that North Korea is super transparent and has revealed all their skeletons to the world? I get that in certain circles it is hip to be anti US and anti the West in general. But let's not act like the communist side of the cold war wasn't worse.
Thank you for sharing this, I love hearing what people were really thinking and how they talked about it with each other. The way the woman in the thumbnail smiles after she agrees that they should be able to choose but we have to protect them from that choice gives me chills. The expression on her face is hard to describe. It feels like looking at a willful disregard for our history and a glimpse into the future all at the same time. I think Eight Flags for 99 cents might be sharing similar ideas with the John Prine song, Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore.
Always excited to see your videos. Every single one I've viewed has been an eye-opening experience. Thank you for nurturing your passion so that we can enjoy the fruits of your labor. You are an artist.
HOLY CRAP DAVID, I loved this video, and I felt pride in their statements, WOW! I haven't felt pride in our country in a long time, thank you for posting this!
Thank you. Time machine, memories. Turned 16 years old in 70. These issues were on my mind then. Same today, history repeating. Number of educated then. suppression working well. Peace ✌. Thank you again.
What a timely fantastic video David.... when the lady says “we were brought up not to question authority.....” to me that’s the difference of the 60’s-70’s and today .... it’s gone full 180 and I think Vietnam was the catalyst.
What did a soldier get for giving their life in Vietnam? A flag-draped coffin. How much does a flag cost? Back then you could probably buy 8 flags for .99 cents (the small kind) That's the value our government put on our soldier's life.
It does seem that way very often my parents are both veterans and I was raised a certain way. When my son wanted to join the Army it threw me hard. I see what war does to people who come home. And what the government doesn't do. Very confused about it all.
Edit: I am not commenting on consumerism, I will support my son who is a man and can make his own decision, and I can see both sides of this issue clearly. Also I'm American and I can say anything I want.
The flags were made in china
@@trentdawg2832 Not back then. They were made in the USA in US factories. Back then we got lots of inexpensive things from Japan mostly household items and pocket size transistor radios about the size of a pack of cigarettes. They were good products not cheap junk like we get from China.
@@annarodriguez9868 I was joking. ....I don't think our government would really ashame your boys like that. ...ffwd to today, I'm not so sure!!
And it all funds the manufacturing industry they were probably making the flags in southeast Asia for all we know
It's been about 50 years since this documentary and nothing has changed
That's on purpose.
Those at the top of the pyramid benefit from the way our society is structured and how our institutions function.
They have no intention of letting the anger and frustration of the "little people" get in the way.
Quite a bit has changed, it's just what you're seeing here, is the general ignorance and frustration of the average US citizen, which, yes sounds the same today as it did 50 years ago. Oh yeah and the model of the MIC dictating our foreign policy while puppet politicians try to sell some kind of trickle down myth concept, that's pretty intact as well. Meanwhile, most other aspects of our society have have been turned on their head, and that whole model I just described, it was brand new at that time, Eisenhower warned that it was going to happen, and after an extremely turbulent decade, when this film was made it had just locked into place, now it's chugging along. As I always say, if you want to be less like the people in this movie and more like the 1%, save your money and BUY DEFENSE!!!
@@1846tt Since when is stockpiling weaponry a path towards peace?
@@AsWellYouShould I was speaking in terms of government manipulating us into useless wars and lying to us about the reasoning. In other words I was speaking in regard to the exact topic of the video. Look below. I guarantee you you will see very many people making similar comments to mine that nothing has changed. It seems other people understand that when you make a comment you're usually talking about the specific topic of the video. Not sure why you're going off on a tangent about obesity and depression... but hey whatever floats your boat
We are so powerless, what can we do??? Well STOP CONSUMING SHIT YOU DON'T NEED . This is how bureaucracy is feed
"Government has no power when everyone comes together for one cause, that's why it's important for those in government to keep us divided"
Yes at least 6 feet apart.
If he really felt that way, he and the rest of the Silent Majority have sided with the civil rights and anti-war demonstrators. They valued "tradition" and "decorum" more than reform in the US.
Rightly said....100% true
Yeah well we tried that on J6 and nothing changed. Sure did freak them out at the very least. But it's going to take WAY more than that.
PREACH!
50 years later and it's the same scenario.. Mind boggling.
These people seem so much more thoughtful than their contemporary counterparts, though.
@@paulstacey7814 Exactly. People can have a conversation and disagree respectfully and not resort to name calling or shouting each other down.
unfortunately there will always be ignorant people who haven’t learned from history or the past. we just have to always remember to be kind to people we disagree with and challenge their way of thinking in a friendly way
@@paulstacey7814 the nuclear family used to be better.
Politics today are just rehashings of debates had in the 80’s about issues of the 70’s
My father served in Nam. He always told me when he got back, the bloodshed and destruction made him question which way is up. Well I joined the Marine Corps in 2003 because I was a kid just trying to get some structure in life. When I returned from the conflict overseas I too was questioning “which way is up”. Now I fully understand my late father and it is truly remarkable to say the least. Great video! Thanks for sharing as always. 🤠
It’s sad that it takes that much violence, trauma and bloodshed to make one question which way up is. I never went to war, I could see from a young age it was a stupid endeavor waged by the rich, fought and paid for by the poor. Why is that soooo hard for people to see? The propaganda is so obvious! Doesn’t take a genius to see a con.
@@baizhanghuaihai2298 shut up
@@Lachausis make me
It's definitely a rude awakening joining the military and getting out, realizing military time served was just part in contributing to the war machine that controls the world entire for those in power to benefit. Sure, there is benefits for those that served, but not to much especially when those that are homeless. Sometimes those that benefited more try to justify that veterans that didn't aren't smart enough to take advantage of their benefits. That culture of "winners and losers", compared to those with or without power, also plagues our military service community unfortunately. Too many times I've seen veterans being nice only those who are well off, but not those sitting in the streets struggling. Anyways, I'm rambling a bit here.
I joined the Army the same year. Ever since coming home from 2 deployments I feel the same you do. Unforturnalty it's impossible to go back to sleep. Sometimes I wish I could.
That guy talking about getting hit with a piece of metal that said “GM”, that really got me. I imagine the feeling of betrayal. Supposedly fighting for your country while your own country is fighting you.
yeah, it reminded me of the opening sequence of Ironman 1 where tony gets the shrapnel in his chest from his own bomb. But its more interesting hearing about that scenario from someone who actually lived it way back then. Really highlights how art imitates life.
"I thought it was the government for the people?" "Yeah, it's for the people alright, it's for the rich people."
Looks like we never got out of feudalism, 😬😅
They bowed to the will of the people ....the steel people...the oil people
the mining people...the farm people....the factory people....
Facts. It's the same way in the Communist countries
@@americo9999 it’s the same game, with a different name. It’s not the “Republicans vs Democrats”. It’s the “Rich vs The Poor”, “The Have’s vs the have-nots.” Republicans have their base convinced they’re part of “The Have’s” and that they have to defend their country against the “have-nots” who are taking all their jobs away!
Democracy literally means ruled by the masses.
When the masses are poor, you have “Ruled by the Poor”
Im not anti-Democrat and I’m not anti-rich but I think we need a balance. The United States cannot be solely for the rich people. We’ve tried it their way with “trickle down economics” It’s time to grow this country from the bottom up.
According to a quote from the leader of the free world We are the people, the government, we are the people.
Perfect timing! We're talking about the "silent majority" in our American History class this week. I'll recommend this video to our students. Thanks!
It's the Oppressed & the Oppressors, Welcome to the Society of the Spectacle. We the People must unite if we want to free ourselves.
Good job teach👍
You idiots keep voting for the same idiots every generation, so nothing has change. I watch the “majority” vote 3x for Bush War policy politicians, finally Obama got elected and the “majority” attacked and mocked him
The magic of the “Silent Majority” in current vernacular is that they are neither of those things. It’s now a cliché appended to arguments by people with crap positions.
@@Jiidwag You saw the last "election", and you still think voting is gonna change anything. We aren't voting our way out of this bullshit, that should be obvious.
I'm a Marine corps Iraqi war combat veteran and watching this shows me exactly how much hasn't changed. These people are telling us exactly what we would also discover going to war in the 2000s. It's amazing
Wow, seeing adults and communities having lengthy, civilized conversations about things that matter! I miss that.
Just a bunch of hippies blaming corporations for everything, while they benefit from the corporations paying the majority of all the taxes.
@@logic7374 It wasn’t the corporations going to fight the war and dying in a jungle.
and what does thathave to do with anything.
people still do this in person you just think reality is social media apparently
@@waynerenolds3955 you're right
Depressing how things just never seem to change
The question is WHO benefits from things staying the same?
Same thoughts. Follow the money.
@@divergentsenior The Billionaire Class.
The more things change....
Stuff has changed, but for the worse.
LOVE this video, I love how none of them didn't mention which newscaster or network said something. This was life before Cable Corp. News. They all had the own solid common sense opinions.
I had a friend who's father was a Vietnam vet. He was a Ranger, and he suffered a variety of health problems due to his exposure to chemical elements during his tours. He was very kind to me, but (this is in 1992) you could tell there was a general unease to his overall mental health. I got on with him pretty well, but he told me stories that were so gruesome they untied my shoes. I would sit and listen to him because I thought it was helping him to have someone to listen to him. I never judged him for it, as far as I could tell he was still a believer of the effort, and I never argued with him (mainly out of respect for him, I never felt threatened by him). I lost contact with him years ago, but I think of him often and how that war stole his mental health (he had repeated breakdowns I was not present for, but his daughter told me some horror stories).
Maybe he couldn't find people to have conversation and eye contact with
Hello BishopLake, Id like to ask you about some details about how Nam affected your friends father, physical and mental long term effects for a book Im writing, would you drop me a line? If I hear back I will give you my contact info- thank you in advance
A lot of Liz Chaney's who want other people's sons to go a fight some dumb ideology
I have no doubt that you made a world of difference for the man. He likely shared things with you that he felt he couldn't share with anyone else. My husband's uncle was a Vietnam vet, and it haunted him, too. He passed away some time ago, now, so hopefully he's finally at peace. I know it would have helped him to have someone to confide in, too. You did a good thing for your friend's father.
Nothing has really changed. USA creating a situation for a war. Who profits big business. Not the common people.
Good grief .. talk about flashbacks! I feel like I was back at my parent's house discussing this around the dinner table. Not one thing has changed in all my 73 years here on this planet. While we're all here still jawin' about it, thems whuts behind the curtains are also still pulling all the strings for us.
Wow, that must have been bizarre to step into this time capsule.
There's a reason your Generation is known as the *Great* one
@@KaoticReach1999 She would actually be a Baby Boomer if she's 73. The 'Greatest' generation fought in WWII. They're in their 90s and up.
Yep
Your truth is a huge breath of FRESH AIR
David Hoffman, you have continuously lived out an amazing life of learning while practicing your vocation of documenting so many social events and meeting so many interesting people from every walk of Life! Thanks for (your) continued passionate diligence to documenting Life as it is sir!
Thank you for what you have said, James
I very much enjoyed watching these people being interviewed expressed their compassion for the other side and not just for Americans. They cared about peace and thought of others that don't look exactly like them as humans.
@@Surfwtw There are some people in this video that come off as probably racist and supremacist. The silent majority who Nixon spoke of were pro-war and against the counter culture.
Yes, it was nice to hear.
@Theodoric Vand I agree. White people of the past did what litterally every other people of the past did. Technology just allowed them to do it a little easier I think. But prejudice and ignorance is a human trait. Or maybe I should say it is a trait that comes from tribalism.
@Stephanie Windler No it absolutely is the medias fault. It's called sensationalism and they are legally aloud to portray events in whatever version they want to. Basically, If the event did happen, they can use the material to project the news, but it comes from their own perception of the events, not what actually happened, constantly breaching impartiality rules.
Think about it this way, if the news REALLY wanted to report events, why do they have to commentary it and explain it to you, are you not a thinking creature and are you unable to formulate your own opinions on the matter? Why do they feel the need to explain events ,AS THEY SEE IT, and shove it in your face as "fact" when, it's literally an opinion.
Stop thinking of the News medias as your friends, they want your viewership in anyway possible and the fact of the matter is, in current society with many many independent journalism on the internet, people are starting to look away from traditional news.
But also, make no mistake, they are a part of the government entity, because the government also relies on them to convey their own messages as well as to "prove" what they are doing to handle the situations.
There is no transparency, most of our heaviest news outlets arnt even subjected to the law set by FCC for distribution of false regulations, because they broadcast on free and public platforms and it would infringe on the 1st amendment right.
"Fox News (as well as CNN and MSNBC) is not an accredited news station because no regulatory body exists in the United States that has the authority to make such a classification."
Man....just fucking watch "Sugar" by SOAD, pretty much sums it up in a pretty simple way.
The absolute one thing I truly admire about Trump was, hate him or love him, he was the first president to actively engage with the people on a whole new platform, that has never been done before. Instead of a speech made for him to say Infront of the press, he said it himself on social networks. That takes balls to speak your mind, especially being in a leader position to a country, and saying it to your face. Whether you like what he had to say is a different matter.
@Stephanie Windler idk what country you live in but I can tell you as a non American 🇺🇸 citizen the whole world does pretty much think the US is a bunch of racist selfish jerks… HOWEVER.. I think most blame & believe that about the US government, not the people
It can be ok to play the victim, when you actually are a victim
A VICTIM OF THE U.S SATANICAL GOVERNMENT AAAAAAAHHHHHH 🤪😵💫
😹 jk sorry guys my husband listens to way too much crazy right wing propaganda 👀😅 (& we don’t even live in the U.S 😐🤦🏼♀️😶🤦🏼♀️) if I don’t joke about it I might go insane 😳🔫🙈🙈🙈
David, this is and absolute treasure. These voices have cried out for so long, now they are heard again. Three silent majority is able to think. To be compassionate and to dare to question. My heart feels so full when I hear people express doubts. To never question authority is to give too much power away. It allows absolute power to exist and to corrupt. Thank you for making it possible for me to experiance history like this.
Bush: lots of MSM and public war criticism
Obama: no MSM and public war criticism
Trump: no MSM and public war criticism
Biden: no MSM or public war criticism
Kinda a big issue at the moment it seems.
Born in the late 70's and raised in the 80's I can honestly say I miss these type of people in my life. It was such an easy and more realistic view on life back then. People seemed to honestly care more about their fellow men and woman.
I feel ya. Same here! Born and raised the same years as well.
I'm with you being born in 73. Where did people and value go
I totally agree. People back then, that generation of mostly middle-aged, middle-class folks did not have the Aire of self-importance and aggrandizement. They were not presumptuous but quite fair and reasonable in their approach to people around them and concerning issues in the World at large. They had more intelligence then than average middle-aged middle class schmoe today.
@@rainmancw9022 born in 73 also, and people, especially those who claimed they earned every penny in life are the most immoral lot. I remember when as a child the elderly were much more nice and caring and genuine. I feel sorry for todays young kids.
True words👍.
1971 Southside Chicago Auburn Gresham raised.
The entire neighborhood was connected in some way. My entire block was independent small business people. Independent t.v. repairman,locksmith,tailors,mechanics,mostly all service men. Segregated Chicago was very organized believe it or not.
We fought in the streets but they are reasonable in this video.
Shout out to the G.A.Y. oh Chicago 🙏✌
"Why do we have to be the policemen of the world? " That same statement could be said today with the same meaning.
This whole document is relevant today.
Because we were the only one capable of protecting the weak. You can take that on a geo-political level or a moral level. Think about it some. I don't use that cliché' any more.
It's why your country was and is so worthy. You are the pimp, pushing your printed greenbacks on to the world. Looking like things are changing, which is scary 😨
@@678ktm Federal Reserve, fam.
Except today, no one around the world cares what America thinks if its not tied to a grant or paycheck.
Well if Americans don’t trust the motives of their own government, then how on earth do you expect the voting public of allied nation to do the same thing without any consultation? Nonetheless the USA has always had some form of allied support.
I love these old interviews! People actually talked face to face and listened to each other and were respectful even if they didn't agree. Now people hide behind their screens and call each other Nazi's or Commies.
You can still have some good conversation at bars, coffee shops, bookstores, etc. As the pandemic winds down we’ll have even more of this… folks are hungry for it.
Enabled by Fascistbook.
Yeah but that guy said not having enough food turned you into a communist
@@rellman85 Good point
It's just that we're on a hairpin trigger these days
And most of them have absolutely no idea what either word means
I'm 24 years old and people don't have conversations like this anymore. 24 years of life and never had a conversation with any integrity.
I know this will sound weird or rude, but I couldn't stop smiling throughout the vide. It's amazing how these people talked and had different viewpoints. Thank you Mr. Hoffman
I agree somthing changed. I beleive a cancer called fox has removed brain cells!
Robert i think it's really both sides of the media at fault. Both of them try to divide us all and hate each other rather than being respectful and open mineded
@@robertl.fallin7062 Lol, fox may be terrible, but it's way better than CNN and MSNBC.
@@Dakotako the people being interviewed are aware of being divided in an effort to prevent an overwhelming majority consensus. As so many before have said “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” 😞
@@Dakotako Fox is terrible and no they aren't better. They actively let their anchors lie about what's going on so they can keep us scared and fighting between ourselves. They take orders from Trump and he and the GQP are dangerous to America.
I’d forgotten how much empathy we had for the Vietnamese people caught in that mess.
It's nice to see. We're all just people. Cold war was a damn hard war to win.
J.C. pointless too
Ironically no empathy for black people in America even to this day
At the end of WW2 we supported the Vietnamese. We helped them start their government. France wanted it back and told us if we got in the way they would join Russia at the start of the cold war. We went from saving Ho Chi Minh's life to bombing him.
@@MrMarkRoads Didn’t Ho send a letter to Truman(?) requesting help in return for support of US and it never reached his desk? A missed opportunity….
"When people are divided, they fight with eachother and forget about the major issues..." 13:00. Fucking nailed it...
The problem is that both sides are fed radically different ways to fix the major issues, maybe that is done on purpose as well.
🎯
If people talked to each other about these issues, many of us would realize we're not that different after all.
This polarization has made us hate each other. This is what dooms us.
This is amazing footage.
And wow, our collective communication skills, our ability to have rational dialogue, has really taken a steep nosedive over the past 50 years. American society has been dumbed down because, as evidenced here in this video, people are having logically sound arguments; you understand where each person is coming from.
We don’t make the time to really think and have conversations anymore like this, and it’s sad.
We can't dialogue like that anymore because we know too much.
“We have to respect each other opinion”
This quote really said a lot to me personally because the mindset was let’s come to an agreement and be able to work together.
I don’t mean to sound dramatic, but the average fellow college student I meet is not interested in finding an agreement or working together. Ideas are being viewed more as morally correct or morally wrong. The goal is often to dominate a space and show how “correct” an idea is
I can have conversations like this. There are still some civil, politically interested people in the USA.
@@Catlily5 definitely agree! Just widespread polarization makes it harder to start the conversation
Glad to hear others are interested in dialogue 🙏🏼
@@Catlily5 I've been a part of lots of conversations like these, with young people.
“General Mortars” is what I’m going to call them from now on.
Solidddddddd. 😎
Fuck yeah !!!
My 30 and 50 browning were made by GM.
@@checkyourhead6467 oh sure. I also know how much money Prescott Bush gave to the cause as well. And what else? I know that while the Reich did not “win the war,” the interests that were backing them all along most certainly took their ideology underground and managed to propagate it right up to the present day. Top-down technocratic panoptikon control grid is well in place as of 2021. Only a matter of time now before comments like this will be expunged. Followed shortly thereafter by those who utter them. I just hope there’s enough time for me to put the finishing touches on my ark.
@@checkyourhead6467 yes, and they successfully sued the American taxpayer for compensation for bombing their German factories.
These videos remind me of the tone and attention we had with one another. It’s a warm and friendly feeling. Thank you for posting these. 😊🍃
“After this you’re gonna have the East.” A haunting statement that remains true.
A frighteningly deep insight.
To be fair, all Middle East wars combined didn’t compare to the horrors of Vietnam and Korea. Those wars left our service members broken forever.
@@brazenlancer9484 the middle east wars left it broken instead. Iraq, Syria, Libya are all still a mess today. But I do agree that the guy said "east" not middle east. I don't think he was talking about the middle east back there.
@@brazenlancer9484 they don’t compare when you consider the only victims to be our soldiers. Go ask the people in the Middle East if they got it easy.
This guy predicted it! On good ol' Technicolor on 16mm in a barber shop. I'd let the barber shops run the country sooner then some dang cronies.
This channel just ignited my interest in learning history for the first time and I just wanted to say thank you!
Julia Hesselbrock watch Europa the last battle on bitchute eyeopening watch Barbara lector Spectra talk on the immigration of Europe and the Kalergi plan include that in your research
Careful not to fall down conspiratorial historical rabbit holes.
@@subs4794 aaaaand you just discredited yourself.
@@mariemiller8740 lol yeah that trash is nothing but nazi sympathizer bullshit. Fuck that
@@kristiskinner8542 How about let ppl come to their own conclusions based on the facts.
the parallels between this video and today are stunning. thanks for sharing!
I'm a veteran of the fighting in Ramadi back in '05-'06, then back again in '07 and this is so frustrating. We had learned nothing in the 35 years since this was filmed. Of course I learned about political unrest around Vietnam, but that older lady who had lived through the big wars and probably saw the men in her life go off and come back in various pieces, if at all, really reached through time. I saw all the mothers of my friends who were killed and wounded in her. When are we ever going to learn
Thank you for your service and thoughtful comment.
The face value metric of war is always the intended result of war regardless of what the narrative of the day is. But fear not, Increasingly as a method to reduce the male population as well as to ensure the consumption, rather then the accumulation of wealth war cannot be directly used towards this end. I has become dangerouseven to those who wage it...
It was a comfortable, large group of free men That created the western world and America. Controlling the pitch, pace and temperament of generations? For over 10 thousand years (yes even in prehistory) the fate of the world was in the hands of a tiny crust of dominant families. Now for the past 500 years the projection of force gave rise to "live and let live." This is what is not allowed to persist.
The gov't is into population control. But they are learning war is expensive and messy. So now they are killing people with lock downs and shots. Using Big Pharma to pull off mass genocide via bioweapons. They also poison our air, food and water. They are nice enough to give most Hospice Care a few months before death.
Sometimes we make mistakes on going to war. Best to just avoid it as much as possible.
We are never going to learn so long as people in power see those not in power as dispensable. We live in a corrupt world...corrupted by human wickedness.
Back when Americans thought critically about things and weren’t propagandized by corporate garbage from Fox News and CNN. Really sad to see the disintegration of intellectualism from that time until now.
So true
Instead of cable channels it was newspapers and magazines.
These people were educated properly.
Even the most staunch conservatives back then would NEVER have embraced Qanon. Alex Jones would have been a doorknob salesman in this world.
@@mikuspalmis The draft was implemented during the Vietnam War, men had no choice , it's why draft dodging became a thing. People did all kinds of things to get out of being sent to war, some ran to Canada others faked mental illness, my uncle knew a guy that got drunk and threw himself into traffic to break as many bones as possible so he couldn't go. Luckily, my family has a hereditary blood disease and my dad couldn't be sent, I may have never been born.
David, Thank you. You have brought back my memories of this time. Memories of watching my parents reading draft numbers in the local newspaper every Friday, hoping my older brother's number did not show up. Memories of my father, a lifelong Republican, speaking in scathing terms about his own party's election of Nixon. My father worrying about the money we sent overseas to buy approval for the US actions. Thank you.
"So many people have to die and it's a dirty shame!"
50 years later and I'm living in Saigon, in the middle of the former Tan Son Nhut U.S. Air Base.
The famous photo of people climbing a ladder on a rooftop to board a Huey helicopter was taken just 4 miles from here and the building is still there. It's now shadowed by Vincom Center, a modern shopping mall. You can see and feel the history everywhere in the city but time marches on.
Thanks for the upload, David. I love all your videos, especially the ones about Vietnam and the 60s and the 70s.
Thank you Pasi.
David Hoffman
I’ve been to Saigon 4 times,it’s like NY on steroids! But I love it..need to get back if they ever start issuing Visas again!Im sure the local businesses are suffering without tourists..at least some are
By the looks of that lady of yours, I see why you're there. 😉
@@jc.1191 haha, exactly. You're right on the money! Coming up on a decade soon. Funny how life takes you places.
Take care! :)
@@VNExperience congrats man ❤️.
Self determination, a concept that we seem to value for ourselves, but not for many others. Excellent work, David. These are just real people and their voices are never heard. Politicians who make the big decisions avoid people like these. And how many Americans know about the mutiny going on among enlisted men at that time?
Nothing changes under the sun. Thank you for your documentaries. This generation needs to see how things weren't that different back then. Take out technology and it's pretty much the same.
Very true. In Australia.
@Bill Sbac but ironically keeping the rich rich in america keeps the poor richer in the long run. If in the 70s there was a revolution we would be like mexico.
My thoughts exactly. You are brilliant.
@@aurtherbrunt241 it's like basic drawback to living in the english speaking world. Every person I've met from Australia, UK, New Zealand everyone is always so sure how their country is the best out of them all when we're around each other. (my experience stems from multiple trips to Thailand)
.
.
Edit: one thing we can all agree on though, Canada is at the bottom of the old commonwealth totem pole
@@patjohn775 surely you're not trying to elude to "trickle down economics" (shakes head in true disappointment)? Are you? Because that does not work, nor has it ever worked the rich don't "trickle down" they reinvest, as anyone should when they gain the means.
9:25 She was 20 & so eloquent. Now she is 70 ! Be fascinating to see what she thinks 50 years later. 🤔
The same
The fear you heard in her voice. I wonder how many she lost after it was all said and done.
@J Breeze How can you say she did LSD? Not everybody did drugs like people like to think.
I was about her age then and several of my high school friends were in Vietnam including my husband. One of them died over there and his name is on the wall of the Vietnam memorial. My husband came home safe, but he never talked about it and had nightmares for a long time. The only thing he said about Vietnam was that it was a beautiful place and it was ashame it was being destroyed.
When the soldiers came home they would travel alone on commercial flights. They would be in uniform and they would be cursed and spit at as they were walking through the airport. They were soldiers that had served where they had been sent. They were not the enemy. They were not baby killers. They were not flag burners. They didn't burn their draft cards. They were called and they went. Some were seriously injured, but all of them survived a nightmare which followed them in their dreams. Over 50,000 never came home.
@@jimicmore1895 “I’ve already buried one friend.....”. Not son.
@Yasta Yildirim It is the voice of sadness and fear for others, not an afterglow.
She's a young woman growing older and wiser sooner than expected. That was part of my generation not counting the ones who dropped out of society and tried to build their own world. Most of us weren't protesting in the streets or colleges. We had jobs and families and tried to make sense of the senseless.
This little documentary puts things into perspective....amazing stuff. Side note, men in the 60’s-70’s had some really good hair 🙃
Nothing has changed much. We need to reopen old theaters and show these documentaries.....
This film is gold...
You could take many of the subjects from this & they wouldn't even recognize their own former views if shown.
It's just like finding an old year book with notes. Some people are the same & some are completely 180° from the very life they had lived & the views they formed up to that point... Great to see how engaged & rational most were.
@Esto's Garage Yes in the 80's many just turned into their parents.
My father was in Vietnam, took him 30 YEARS before sharing stories. War changes you, & it affects your kids. Only when neccessary should war be an option. Dad is still alive today & now his grandson (my son) is an "Electric Strawberry" 21st Infantry EXACTLY like my dad was (& that wasn't my son's Choice) but I fear he'll be led down a similar path... you can only hope and pray it's for the right reasons.
The David Hoffman History Channel is just the best
It really is! How precious a gift it is- to be able to experience this.
I'm so happy I just got into crypto trading and I made my first profit, I wish I knew about crypto earlier I would have made a lot of money by now
@@jamalmckenzie5319 For real crypto is profitable
Crypto is the new gold
50 years later different decade same situation
Wild to realize these conversations took place in 1970 and were still being had in 2021
Because the same interests are running the show. Its a shame.
I beg to differ. The discourse back then, compared to now, was radically different. Positions were argued, yes, but with respect (for the most part). And the wisdom on display in this film - with a few exceptions - is seldom found today. The divide between right and left in the US, to these eyes (I’m not American), has never been greater. The Trumpists have destroyed all rational discourse.
This is truly a very good documentary. I hope that documentaries such as this is added into OUR AMERICAN HISTORY lessons. American children need to know about the ins and outs of the Vietnam war and all the other wars. They are our future. When I'm 80 if I make it that far I want people in office that's going to make a difference not ones that will tear America apart. To stand for the United States not let it fall
"I ain't no senator's son, naw". They send OUR sons to fight wars.
The song "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival was used as a term to describe the draft-dodging kids of politicians.
@@truck_yeah_440 And then we lived it with George W. Bush.
@@Don-mu2qh And Trump..
Why did France want dominion over Vnam?
@@jimmydean314 It was part of French Indochina, part of the French colonial empire.
The guy ar 3:55 talking about his platoon getting wiped was heartbreaking. You can see the trauma in his eyes.
if you dont see it pause at exactly 4:00
Looks like a scammer to me. Judging his face and mannerisms he never saw any combat.
@@MrZarono You know nothing. Shame on you.
@@MrZarono Hey, I remember you....you're the guy who won the war!
He's trying not to show it. Just shoving it down. Must be tough.
9:21 love this conversation. And there’s a fantastic book about this very thing written by a WWI vet called “War is a Racket.” Would highly suggest.
And so is the court system and the "healthcare" system.
I see so much ‘soul’ in this documentary. The 20th century really was the American century.
When we capture the feelings and yearnings of the people who lived during these times, we can kind of feel the soul of America.
This is how I feel at least.
I feel the same way, so you are not alone in your opinion.
People don't talk to each other this way anymore. It seems like they all had more understanding and empathy for people who thought differently. Now we just demonize people and call them villains
@@TheHardys01 I didn't make any comment on whether what they believed was right or wrong. You projected that onto me. That's on you. I simply said they had a more decent way of dealing with one another. And while we are on it, YOU are the one who took one outlier and tried to make it seem as if everyone thought how she thought. The overwhelming majority clearly said that the war was wrong and didn't serve the people. Work on your listening skills
@@TheHardys01 once again...you only focused on one woman's comment. I listen to ALL the words. People in general were questioning authority and the story they were being told about the war. Proving that the president was wrong about the silent majority supporting the Vietnam war. They spoke up and out against the official story. That's admirable and worthy of praise. Also your comment is a logical fallacy. It is possible to praise the way a message is delivered without focusing on the content. Your "all or nothing" approach reveals a shocking inability to seperate the message from the messanger.
@@TheHardys01 Vietnam and China were historical enemies. Ho Chi Minh would have been an ally of the US.
@@TheHardys01 that was not said at all. You're looking to be angry. If THATS what you took away from listening to all the voices here then heaven help you. I very clearly heard many of the interviewees saying that people in Vietnam were owed self determination and respect even if they wanted something different than Americans. That they were entitled to the own government and their own ways of living. If all you heard and focused on was one voice and decided to paint everyone with the same brush than perhaps you need to reflect on your mindset
@@TheHardys01 sure tell yourself whatever you like
Love you David. Your curation and release of your and others' films is so timely and speaks volumes.
Empathy
Nowadays we hate the “other” so much, we won’t listen to a word from them
It makes us weak
It emboldens the ruling class
We used to have integrity 😔
Well said
Social media hasn't helped. Everyone just seeks out an echo chamber now.
@@firingallcylinders2949 Precisely.
@@firingallcylinders2949 like the echo chamber. Thankyou!
Yeah, if we all learned to respect and learn as much as possible, the world would be better than any heaven humans can conceive.
How timely. Thank you. Be brave people - you will regret it dearly if you you aren’t.
America has dumbed down phenomenally over the years. All these people make so much sense. They sound so well-informed and level-headed, with their thinking faculty intact. It's a treat to hear them talk.
Woodie Guthrie said one time. There's a whole lot of rich folks want to fight. Give them the guns
@ Ryan
The rich do not fight since manipulating the poor and men with a low IQ has been spectacularly successfull . McNamara was not a pioneer!
[MacNamar was Sect. of Defense during the Vietnam war. His IQ cutoff was 81, Many draftees had trouble doing basic task]
Yeah and Woody Guthrie was an isolationist until Nazi Germany broke the nonaggression pact with the communists and invaded the Soviet Union, then he wanted us in the war in Europe. Commie stooge, him and Pete Seeger both.
I wish they would
There's a whole lotta rich folk SAY, they wanna fight, til you OFFER them a gun. Then they get all intellectual and reason the fighting away. Js
Comrade Guthrie, the Antifa OG
What's really touching about this doc is the way people with differing views are able to hold a civil discourse. Sad that that's no longer possible. The forces of divisiveness have won and the people have lost.
It's a lack of love of humanity. Most people say they "Hate people".
It’s still possible. I think people were just interacting with each more at that time.
Thanks for sharing this. Noone remembers anything anymore. Let's all remind each other 💛
I am surprised at these views. I was a teen in 1970. It seemed to me people then liked go stereo type others. Those "hippies and or "trouble makers " were against the war and that the silent majority were pro Nixon and pro war. Apparently that was far from the truth. Things have not changed in America. Those that are most vocal get the most publicity but that may not represent all the people or the truth.
Good observation 👍
Great interviews.
I do suspect though that the interviewers unwillingly gravitated to more respectful and humble personalities when approaching people. Naturally these types of people would be more anti-war and less blindly obedient. Might have been plenty of obnoxious drum-beating people that gave brief angry incoherent interviews that wouldn’t have made the final cut
I was thinking the same. These people may be true centrists I guess.
I'm glad that you and your colleagues were driven to collect these words and images. If we can remember lessons learned yesterday, we at least have a fighting chance to build a better tomorrow
A little too naive but I like the message
@@tajcee what might you add or remove to my statement, that removes the naivety you take issue with?
I think you make a damn good point. Unfortunately history isn't taught properly in schools anymore. You're essentially saying learn from the past so we don't make the same mistakes, that way we will build a better future.
@@douglasdixon524 yes, that is exactly what I meant 🙂 watching old episodes of Crossfire is cool, but the guests Buckley had on were also already established enough to have been invited on to argue broad concepts. These are regular people, passionately debating about the impacts something had/is having and what that looks / feels like on a more human level.
Amazing video. Thank you.
5:48 - "Those people are ignorant... we're trying to save them..."
How many generations will it take to fix the damage done by that mindset?
Exactly
Still working on it….
Same mindset been used during the colonial period. To justify invasions. Its unfortunate
that mindset is being used right now to justify censorship of information in the media by the state
True.
But don't kid yourself that we are any less ignorant right in the here & now. Just different buzzwords, with agendas & narratives that sound like they are intelligent and virtueous. But they are just as false and corrupt.
When will we ever learn..... 😢
It's pretty simple, really: weapons manufacturers have no downside risk to wars - either won or lost. Instead, their downside risk is to no wars.
All war should be done at cost, no profit should be allowed.
At the end of the cold war there was the idea of the peace dividend
based on the idea that there was no longer the big threat so no need to keep building up our armament
That lasted about 30 seconds
It scared the shit out of the military industrial complex
Any excuse for continuing to build massive amounts of weaponry had to be found
And we did
@@dionysusnow it's been a few years since I've read this book about WWI, one part discussed manufacturing and finding money for all the millions of tons of equipment you need. i think france, uk, and germany all had different ways of financing the war.
point is i remember reading that war profiteering was a huge issue and it went through various changes as the war went on. but at least a few of the countries tried to prevent a massive war profits.
@@jc.1191 And how will we ever avoid one?
"The pain of war *CANNOT* exceed the woe of aftermath" --Led Zeppelin
Amazing to see someone fully say what they think without a verbal barrage occurring after two word
"We could spend money on poverty clean up the cities."
Thirty years later you have Donald Rumsfeld talking about trillions of dollars not accounted for in the pentagon on sept 10th 2001. Think about how much just 100 billion could do for poverty.
@@russellharrell2747 It would eradicate it.
@itserich unesco
@@GallowayJesse meritocracy is murder. The little beleevees of the haves informs the deservees of the have-nots.
At over 2 acres per person on earth yup it is a choice of getting disenherited at birth by the haves.
@@dzxn3728 seems to murder less people than communism.
In tears. I wish we could figure the truth out about ourselves.
Damn
"In a respectful manner"
God bless the Soul of this person!
“You had WW1, WW2, Korea, and now this. Next it’s going to be the Middle East.”
I need to know how that guy knew that.
He's observant. Crystal ball not needed.
The conflicts, some wars and instability began wayyy before 2001
Following the bloody breadcrumbs
Oil. When it comes to America and the West's involvement in the Middle East, it always boils down to oil interests.
The "Six Day War" had already occurred in 1967. The trouble in the Middle East had already begun.
Good to see people share opinions and ideas and not fighting even if they disagree.
Because they are in person and being filmed. You can still find videos of modern people talking like them. It’s just not as fun, so it doesn’t get recomended
@@yucol5661 people today are far more judgemental. It's become acceptable to call someone a racist, xenophobic, etc etc, the moment you don't agree. People don't have social skills.
And my husband of 34 years who was a Marine in Vietnam died a grueling death from Agent Orange in 2007.
I’m very sorry for your loss ❤️
My cousin only made it to 1975. He was 26.
1970: "The Government".
2021: "The Government".
Fair enough
1970: The Government
2021: The Corporation of The Government
@@panjandrum.conundrum Are you brain-dead or brainwashed? Both? A huge swath of this country is fed up with the government and the number is growing. They are absolutely not the "only entity" that can provide those things either. We are vastly advanced technologically compared to the 70s and there are infinitely more innovative ways to provide those things better than a corrupt, self-serving government. Open your eyes...
@@JS-bu5oj Those other entities can(debatable) provide those life or death things for an exorbitant fee. Look at big pharma. I don't trust corporations to give me clean air. Open your eyes. I grow tired of your type pretending that a decades long process of 'innovation' (paid for by the taxpayer btw, these innovations happen at universities) to make products inexpensive is a good selling point for a society without government. Did you see the lack of ppe equipment manufactured at the start of the pandemic? Have you observed the vulnerability of global supply lines? We need a representative, centralized institution to address the problems and grievances of society.
@@rsync9490 Just say you have no idea what you're talking about. It's a lot faster than that novel-length reply that ignores endless examples that prove your entire assertion to be nonsensical drivel.
My grandfather would cut articles and pictures out of the newspaper before he let my grandmom and his daughters read the paper. My uncle came home but he never really came home.
Oh wow. That's the story for so many, isn't it?
Yes, my father too.
@@robingillespie4467 it's like you and my mom belong to a terrible club you never wanted to join. ❤
@@caroled3943 the real cost is heartbreaking.
@@crankyoldperson6871 after her brothers suicide my mother never talked about her brother with her parents ever again. No one did. Eventually the sisters all just told people their brother died from war injuries.
So powerful. This conversation is repeating today. I’d love to see and update. There was so much talk about the Silent Majority since the end of 2020. Together we are 💪
This is probably one of the most interesting things I’ve ever seen on TH-cam. Thank you for sharing this.
It is scary how relevant their ideas to the mess we are in today. Especially the man at 13:00 .
Keeping the country separated and divided. Prophetic words spoken by this man at 13:00.
@@Kevin_Carlson That's how it's ALWAYS been.....WE realize it but fail to act on that knowledge!
Fun fact.....There were about 6 Billionaires in the United States in the 1960's.....There are 614 Billionaires as of 2020. There were about 192 Billionaires in the 60's Worldwide....There are about 2,750 now!
The Rich got Richer, The Middle class became poorer and the Already Poor are being thrown in jail.....which sadly is making people Rich!
Especially with poverty. Texas is trying to make it illegal for the homeless to camp in Austin, and are trying to fine and jail the homeless for simply being homeless. It's crazy
@@jazzb3371 So, you take the homeless, who have no money and fine them? A lot of good that will do. Then you jail the homeless who could not pay the fine. The only benefit here is that Texas will have to foot the bill for feeding the homeless and providing health care. Maybe not a bad idea at all. Let Texas know that Debtors Prisons were outlawed in the U.S. in the mid 1800s. That form of punishment does not work.
@@H.pylori
Texas and every other state get federal funding for every day they have someone in custody.
Those federal funds are profits for the privatized corporate jails and prisons.
Where I live, the judges that run the "drug court" program own all of the rehab centers they sentence people too.
What ever happened to conflict of interests?
Thank you. As a kid of the 70s, your films help know my elder family members more.
I am not from the US, I am from France, but this is very moving
@@thereisnosanctuary6184 Lo
I'd like to see a film of French citizens in the 1950's talking about the war in French Indochina. A little different because it was French territory, but I'd still like to know if they thought it was worth it or not to take it back after WWII.
Very moving again, Mr. Hoffman - thanks so much. It's striking how practical and common sensical, not 'ideological.' these folk all are. Also how empathetic both with wounded and killed Americans and with their Vietnamese counterparts. We seem to have been a better people 50 years ago.
It's so good to hear conversations that are coherent & non-reactive.
Those were the days.
I was alive then and developed my strong opinions and it's so sad, what I was saying then and what the rest of the populace was saying about "our" government still holds true today. All my life of 67 years has been one corporate generated war after the other!
This is what happens when war profiteers becomes so powerful that they can control the government to the point where they force the elected officials to go to war so they can charge the government more and more money for weapon sales.
@@madashell7224 Hi MadAsHell! Thanks for your cogent insight! I think too just because someone has an opposing view, I mean I was shouted down many times during the Vietnam War. Even the father of the host family I rented from while attending vocational school in a big city kicked me coldly out of their home, told me firmly "the sooner you leave the better", and all because I disagreed with the war in a very polite and diplomatic manner and was going to vote for George McGovern. We are oppressed and right about this "military industrial complex" and really we are people who care very much about our country if it only could not be our country is the reason for so much destruction in the world. The United Nations recently hired a survey company to ask internationally the question, "What country in the world do you feel is the greatest threat to world peace?" The huge majority said the USA. I also believe NATO should be dismantled, war machine international.
@@mwj5368Just curious... Who was president when that survey was out?
@@mwj5368 Nevermind. I looked it up. The survey has been done annually since 2018, and it was because of Trump. They literally said so. It also said it went up 14 pts when Biden took office, due to what they called The Biden Effect, so it got 14 pts better.
I had a feeling that's what it was about.
Does "Eight flags for 99 cents" refer to the cheaply made miniature US flags everyone buys for the 4th of July that are made in China? Seems like a possible metaphor for what's been going on for decades.
Yes. See original video at 9:57. th-cam.com/video/10ElNsuIOvI/w-d-xo.html
China wasn't open for trade yet. Japan was manufacturing alot, but the flags were probably made here.
He's referring to the value that government put on Vietnam vets lives by the cheap flags could buy for 99 cents...to put on their coffins....that's my take .Aussie boomer here
Thank you for this!
These videos are such treats Mr. Hoffman...I love hearing these voices from the past. Even at age 49 it is still both amazing and a little unsettling for me to realize the idealistic young guys in this videos are now senior citizens. Some people think we haven't moved forward much but I think we have because of guys like that.
“Because after all, Russia hasn’t lost a man. Look what we’ve lost” well damn
The Russians killed 80 million of its own people who opposed communism through intentional famines, assassinations, and slave labor in the gulags.
@@Hudini12345 Right, Russia has really been through it.
Russian people have been through Hell and back. Russian history goes back to more that thousand years, we’ve been through many wars and genocide.
The US is still a very young country..
@@vkrgfan the US is made up of people from nearly all the peoples of the world including Russians and believe it or not we can read history books and we do still talk about old times a lot of us fled Russia and Nazi Germany and Vietnam and all kinds of misery. People are still doing it today, our nation is young but our peoples are not.
Russia had their own Vietnam in Afghanistan
Great video. I really enjoyed it very much! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for this documentary, David. the 'silent majority' certainly put things into perspective when asked. Isn't it just crazy how so many decades have passed us all by, yet the same continues & that issues lacking, such as housing, poverty, proper medical care, etc., still do not take precedence the world over. It's very sad to say the least.
Sidenote, it's really interesting to hear more pronounced regional accents, most are so much more homogenized now.
I bet that's from national tv and radio broadcasts. I wonder what we'll sound like in a hundred years.
I know. I miss them Im from the Bronx and I still have my ny accent and Im proud of it
I think these were all interviews that a small film crew conducted in the Chicago District of Spiro Agnew? Or at least Spiro Agnew‘s congressional district, if I’m not remembering Chicago correctly (chosen due to his use of the “silent majority” tag to suggest that most Americans were in support of the war in 1970) …all those accents from people living in the same general area, But the upper Midwest has always had some great accents to be sure, ha ha … those particularly, I agree, have become much more homogeneous- east coast accents are amazing too, such distinct speech in practically every nook from Boston to Baltimore…
@@scottyj6226 Yes that has been a major cause of accent homogenization. Also schools intentionally educating children in specific accents as the 'correct' way to speak. That happens all over the world too though.
People used to mostly listen to TV and radio that was local and generally spent most of their time speaking to other people from their region who had lived in that region for generations. You didn't leave your state, and your regional accent was a part of yoour identity. Nowadays, globalised mass media has homogenised American accents.
This is amazing footage, invaluable in understanding our Zeitgeist. Thank you for making this available.
Oh David Hoffman, I just love your channel so much ❤️
Thank you Kris for your comment. Please consider joining the David Hoffman TH-cam Community to receive daily photo posts and monthly entertaining and provocative Livestreams. Click the join button on my channel homepage - upper right corner.
David Hoffman Filmmaker
Truthfully, there are multiple silent majorities. People don’t think the same way about everything. Regardless of which side of the political spectrum that you’re referring to, people with the most extreme and radical views tend to be the most vocal, while people with more mixed and nuanced views tend to be drowned out.
I really don’t think there is - there’s multiple points of view; but most people just want justice, peace, a job, and safe place to raise children.
the mixed views ones are " try before you buy" types of people.
This really hit me.
I was in the middle of it- trying to understanding what was going on. I had a close boyfriend who was in the Marines, 17, dropped out of Harrison High in 11th grade..very smart parent's killed in car accident & raised by his aunt & uncle ..he was 17 .. exactly like the movie Platoon... shot in the head & killed by a sniper.
the unfortunate thing is that i understand how they are feeling, but the reality is that a lot of them even the soldiers who were in Vietnam didn’t know what the communist govt in the north was doing. Much of what americans (right or left) knew about North Vietnam was filtered through propaganda. My family and millions of other suffered heavily when the North re-invaded after America pulled the majority of its troops out. Your films bring a whole new wonderful perspective I love watching them daily!!
The north committed their fair share of atrocities but in both vietnam and korea, the majority of atrocities were committed by the US backed side, or by US forces themselves
@@DmoneyS44 www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/un-north-korea-commits-unspeakable-atrocities/
@@narcocastillo3783 sure. But I mean, it is kind of hard to say the South was worse than the North though. And now look how they turned out.
@@narcocastillo3783 I doubt that. And yes. Of course they were bad, until they weren't lol. That's the point.
@@narcocastillo3783 and you are saying that North Korea is super transparent and has revealed all their skeletons to the world? I get that in certain circles it is hip to be anti US and anti the West in general. But let's not act like the communist side of the cold war wasn't worse.
Thank you for sharing this, I love hearing what people were really thinking and how they talked about it with each other. The way the woman in the thumbnail smiles after she agrees that they should be able to choose but we have to protect them from that choice gives me chills. The expression on her face is hard to describe. It feels like looking at a willful disregard for our history and a glimpse into the future all at the same time.
I think Eight Flags for 99 cents might be sharing similar ideas with the John Prine song, Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore.
That's because she's ignorant and wicked. If she had any regard for her fellow man, she would want them to enjoy the same freedoms she does.
I’m glad this was made. I hope a lot of folks watch this.
Really powerful. Seems like we're still stuck in some permutation of this 50 years later
Ohh, Mr. Hoffman, this is an INCREDIBLE piece of history. Thank you so very much!
Always excited to see your videos. Every single one I've viewed has been an eye-opening experience. Thank you for nurturing your passion so that we can enjoy the fruits of your labor. You are an artist.
HOLY CRAP DAVID, I loved this video, and I felt pride in their statements, WOW! I haven't felt pride in our country in a long time, thank you for posting this!
Michelle Obama was castigated for that statement.
"After this you're going to go to the East."
Almost predicted the forever wars
Yep. The Middle East.
Exactly what I thought! So scary...
Thank you. Time machine, memories. Turned 16 years old in 70. These issues were on my mind then. Same today, history repeating. Number of educated then. suppression working well. Peace ✌. Thank you again.
What a timely fantastic video David.... when the lady says “we were brought up not to question authority.....” to me that’s the difference of the 60’s-70’s and today .... it’s gone full 180 and I think Vietnam was the catalyst.