Thought on Rhetoric – Vietnam War

Although Vietnam War is not a current event, I happen to think about it a lot while discussing the topic of rhetoric. Here I want to mention history and its truthfulness. I grew up in Vietnam under communist government. What I learned about the Vietnam War through my teachers and textbooks was very different from what I discovered later on. I was taught to think of American as invaders, who caused wars and killed millions of our people, who tried to take away our freedom. I believed that was true. Because that was what I was taught for 18 years.

When I moved to American for college, I took American History. I learned about the Vietnam War in a totally different point of view. The U.S. actually came to help the Vietnamese people who was fighting against communism? This was actually a civil war that the U.S. should not have involved in? I started having questions, disbelieving what I have learned. I started seeing things in a much bigger picture. However, I could not totally believe in any source of information that I have. History is important to us because we can learn so much from the past. However, how do we know if what is written is accurate? Is history written in a way to persuade us. Does it based on truths? Or does it written in favor of someone’s opinion?

I think rhetoric has a lot to do with one’s opinion –  what a person believes in. If one is confident enough with his belief, he can persuade other people, disregarding the truth.