Can there be national reconciliation around supporting the troops?
. The present campaign to “support our troops” culminates years of effort by the bourgeoisie to promote a “national reconciliation” between supporters and opponents of the war in Viet Nam. The Viet Nam memorial is a perfect example of this “healing of wounds”. It lists the names of American soldiers who died in action against the Vietnamese. It does not, however, list the names of those who died protesting the war, such as at Kent State. Nor does it list the names of Vietnamese soldiers who died in the war, or of Vietnamese civilians killed by B-52s. . It seems that the point of “support our troops” is to support the war that is being waged by the government. This slogan is not a new one. And that is what it has always meant in the past. The other America . Among the liberal forces who say that the anti-war movement should give the slogan “support our troops”, there are those who say that the anti-war movement should compete with the government over who is more patriotic. . But there a
