Postwar Impact of Vietnam
Johnson's decision to finance both a major war and the Great Society without a increased taxation, created a mounting federal debt that killed America's economy and living standards from the lat 1960s into the 1990s. Along side the extreme financial cost, there was also high political cost. The public faith of government and in the honesty and competence of its leaders, was weakened severely. Citizens of the United States, became highly skeptical, and regarded authority of any kind with a high degree of suspicion. After the Vietnam War, Americans did not respect or trust their public institutions. The need to contain communism around the world was seriously questioned by parties.
The Vietnam veterans were shunned by American society. The 1.6 million vets who served had no aid after the war and their loved ones who needed assistance in adjusting. Not only this, but veterans were depicted as drug-crazed psychotic killers and as vicious executioners in Vietnam through the torrent of fiction, films, and TV programs.
The Vietnam veterans were shunned by American society. The 1.6 million vets who served had no aid after the war and their loved ones who needed assistance in adjusting. Not only this, but veterans were depicted as drug-crazed psychotic killers and as vicious executioners in Vietnam through the torrent of fiction, films, and TV programs.
Was it worth it?
With the collateral damage of the costs of the war both financially and psychologically, the Vietnam War was not a justified war. Even President Johnson admitted after the fact that war was not winnable. It could be considered a waste of federal funding and American lives.