SYNCHRONICITY

A series of essays.....

THE VIETNAM WAR: A FILM BY
KEN BURNS AND LYNN NOVICK

Credit: parademagazine.com


.....as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

At the very least, I would like to be sitting here listening to The Pogues, my favorite Irish punk band formed in 1982, and, at the most, dutifully performing my daily exercise regime to their lyrically unique sound. Pogue Mahone, by the way, is the anglicization of their name which, in Irish, is póg mo thóin or literally translated as 'kiss my arse.' Seemingly, quite apropos these days....the feeling of disregard, that is.

Many of us have been experiencing a 'more than usual' rash of 'kiss my ass' experiences this past year and with good reason. With the constant fear of losing health insurance, not to mention nuclear war hanging over our heads on a daily basis like the "Sword of Damocles," an illusion to the imminent and ever-present peril we face as a nation....among so many other crises I could add to this list.    

THE POGUES

My latest 'póg mo thóin' revelation came a few days ago. Having been working on my latest venture which takes place in Orlando, Florida and Vietnam, past and present time, I'd been looking forward to watching the latest documentary showing on PBS (Public Broadcasting System) entitled The Vietnam War: A film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick. Due to time constraints, we have been taping this series with the intention of watching episodes whenever we can. 

Sitting down this past Sunday evening, it was exciting to push the appropriate buttons on the hand-held remote that would take us to 'Deja Vu,' the aptly titled first episode in a total of ten for this series.

Being a seasoned aficionado of following many amazing shows offered on PBS throughout the years (one does not raise two children without memorizing most of the jingles and jangles comprising 'Sesame Street' and 'Mr. Roger's Neighborhood'), I know enough not to scroll through the equally important names of donors who have financially supported them, including this latest endeavor by Mr. Burns and Ms. Novick. However, I was taken aback by what I'd read on the screen and immediately questioned their intent.

"Major support for the Vietnam War was provided by: Members of The Better Angels Society including Mr. & Mrs. Lavine, The Montrone Family." and so forth. "Major funding was also provided by David H. Koch, The National Endowment for Humanities, Bank of America, and Viewers Like You....," among many others, of course. Both Koch and Bank of America were sandwiched in there like ham and cheese between two toasted slices of stale bread! 

DAVID H. KOCH

Credit: The New Yorker Magazine

Yes, I Googled his name. He most definitely is one of the Koch brothers. Not a cousin of or a complete stranger to the Koch brothers having the same last name but, one of the two brothers. In an article written for The New Yorker by Jane Mayer in the August 30, 2010 issue called Covert Operations, Ms. Mayer explains how David H. Koch and his brother Charles, at that time, quietly had given more than a hundred million dollars to right-wing causes and had openly waged a war against President Barack Obama.

 I'm all about admiring the idea behind philanthropic acts and have even written several stories about major philanthropists of our time including Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg, and Michael Bloomberg. Vowing that if I should ever be fortunate enough to win a grand Lottery payout, part of the proceeds would go to one or more charitable organizations of my choice, as many of us might do under similar circumstances.

Lest we forget the involvement of Bank of America and the still fresh wounds of the middle-class when the bank purchased the Countrywide Mortgage Company back in 2008, a company who had grown by offering sub-prime mortgages to aspirant homebuyers. John Taylor of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition said, "By the time Bank of America came along, it was too late. Regardless of how much they knew about Countrywide's shoddy lending at the time of purchase, Bank of America inherited a mess of mortgages that went sour fast." This contributed to many home foreclosures and the placing of families out onto the street among their furniture and personal belongings.

U.S. SOLDIERS MARCHING IN DANANG, VIETNAM,
IN 1965 WITH AN AVERAGE
AGE OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS OLD!

Credit: The Associated Press

When I think back to Sunday evening and my revelation of recognizing the names of Koch and Bank of America as financial supporters of the Burns and Novick documentary, I cringe just a little bit and wonder, especially in the case of David H. Koch, as to the reasons his foundation might want to back this particular project. Unfortunately, if this world has taught me anything lately it is to question everything and trust in only a few people, especially when copious amounts of money are concerned.

I will be the first person to say that this Vietnam War film is fast-paced and emotionally charged. Having lived through this time as a young high school and college student myself, the content hits home...and straight through my heart. Like a small child afraid of the dark, I sit back in silence and allow the beat of the music, the black and white video and still shots, and reemergence of its sorrow and pain fill me with enough sadness that I want to go hide under my bed and keep out the bogeyman forever. Even so, perhaps because of this feeling, I highly recommend taking the time to see this film.

A Facebook friend of mine, Mr. Neal Golden, had reposted a story this morning written by Thomas A. Bass and published in the Peace Journal on August 7 of this year.  Mr. Bass is the author of Vietnamerica, The Spy Who Loved Us, and the Censorship in Vietnam: Brave New World. His story takes us even deeper into the Vietnam War era than Burns and Novick do pointing out the individual editing styles of each and how much their film has left out or forgotten about. 

U.S. TROOPS WADING THROUGH A MEKONG DELTA
MARSH, SOUTHERN VIETNAM IN 1967
~THE VIETNAM WAR: 1954 -1975~

Credit: Encyclopedia Britannica

Some American journalists like Stanley Karnow, author of the book VIETNAM, A History, and Drew Pearson, American columnist and radio host, have grappled for years with presenting this war on television stating that the French, Canadians, and other Europeans have already made good documentaries about the Vietnam War. "But the tenacity with which the US has forgotten the lessons of Vietnam, burying them under misplaced patriotism and willful disregard for history, bump it out of contention for making a great movie about this war," Mr. Pearson once retorted on his NBC Radio program titled Drew Pearson Comments.   

The divisiveness felt today under the Trump Administration was definitely recognizable throughout the Vietnam War, with the war and this presidency dividing personal beliefs, families, policies, Presidents, our government, as well as many foreign governments alike. I do see these two conflicts sharing the same tendency and direction with parallel motives and aims.

My friend, Neal, also caught up in the negativity and questionable theories behind the Bank of America/Koch funding of the Burns & Novick version, made me wonder if the two of us were the only ones who valued the synchronicity of this scenario. 

Could this be a coincidence of events that appear meaningfully related but do not seem to be causally connected? How much deeper should I be probing into this story? Would it, ultimately, make a difference? Is that strange, niggling feeling in my gut only hunger pains or something else?

Thanking Neal for his input, I thought about my current writing project and how this information might make a difference regarding the redirection and expansion of my research. I am studying the Vietnam War through the eyes of a young woman, a Vietnamese citizen, who lived and breathed it while falling in love with her American soldier and the Vietnam War raged on around them. I am both fascinated and traumatized by my interviews with this beautiful lady, now in her mid-sixties, whom I've known for over a year. But, anticipating the Burns/Novich documentary (especially for my research) and seeing that both Bank of America and Koch are involved with it.....I am disheartened. 

Had Ken Burns, one of my heroes, actually sold his soul to the devil? Maybe. Money, especially copious sums, makes for strange bedfellows...

FOLLOWING THE MONEY

I will have to decide how much their presence goes against my personal principles or whether it will make a difference at all. At any rate, for now, I will chalk it up to my most recent 'kiss my arse' experience, sit back, put my feet up on the ottoman and slip in my favorite 'póg mo thóin' CD. Ireland dreaming, even with a punk flair, always seems to calm my soul. Thank goodness!

Copyright © 2017 by Jacqueline E. Hughes

All rights reserved