Argumentative Essay: The First Amendment Of The Vietnam War

Going to school is the blessing that I have had my whole life. I attended school from the kinder garden up to my sophomore year in high school in Vietnam-a country occupied by communism. Nearly every subject in school that I learned in Vietnam had been modified and censored if the material was considered objectionable, sensitive, or politically incorrect as determined by the government. Luckily, my family came to the United States and it was a big shock for me in terms of freedom of speech. I was impressed that students could openly express their opinions to the teachers and fellow classmates about any subject, and discuss what they learned from doing research; I had no freedom of expression in Vietnam. The first amendment of the constitution

The journalists provided documents and pictures to show Americans what was really going on over there. I personally think the Vietnam War ended because it was no longer having the support at home from Americans because of what they saw on the news. The Vietnam War was not censored back then compared to those recently. The government manipulates journalist’s report about the war oversees, so that they can maintain support from the citizens back home and continue the war. For instance, there was tension between the United States military and the media during the Iraqi War. Peter Braestrup wrote in his article “Censored” that “in Saudi Arabia newsmen were limited to guided tours of selected American units…that was the first major gripe in the current revival of the chronic tensions between the U.S. military and the American media.” (16). I strongly believe that Americans have the right to know the details of war regardless of how unpleasant it is. Many Americans have family members who are in the military services, and they need to know what is really going on in the war whether they want to continue to support the war, or protest against it if the war starts getting out of control. If I have family members who are in war combat, I absolutely do not want to put their life 100% in the government’s hands because their lives are just as precious as someone who works in an office. Therefore, censorship should not be accepted or tolerated under any