But there was no thought of fighting only until a demarcation line. or a parallel. or a demilitarized zone was reached. The fight was to be carried on until the overriding objectives. the principles at stake. were assured. Unfortunately. these experiences seem to have been forgotten. just as the fact that we are a nation of immigrants seems to have been forgotten. at least temporarily. by too many Americans. But. if we are willing to look back and learn from history all is not lost provided we act upon those lessons in accordance with our proud heritage. The fact that we have stood by the principles of freedom. and those who believe in them. in something we can be proud ofbut only if we are willing to keep up the good fight in the future. even if it does mean an element of personal sacrifice. Looking at our history again. it seems that economic adversity. or threat of economic adversity. tends to bring out the worst in Americanscynicism. materialism. isolationism. The great depression. for instance. spawned not only economic discontent but an isolationism that led to the Nye Committee. the Neutrality Acts and a reluctance to get involved until the day we were actually attacked at Pearl Harbor. So. there is hope that our apparent xenophobia over Vietnam will pass away as it has before with respect to other minorities as we rediscover our traditional commitment to basic principles of justice. righteousness. and personal liberty. There are. however. salient differences. The first is that times are not nearly as grim as they were in the great depression.
Identified stereotypes
Economic adversity brings out the worst in Americans.