The Importance of Understanding Cultural Fabric-The solutions to the future lie in the past
-part I.
Is Iraq the new Vietnam?
What influence does the occupation have on the population?
How can social lessons from the Vietnam era be applied today in Iraq?
The French connection, more on this in part II- Is America following in the footsteps of of the French; how having thier asses handed to them in Indochina, and even North Africa resulted in economic demise and what we can learn from it.
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The most important thing that we must consider is the cultural fabric of any warring nation. Looking at Robert Shaplen's obersvation of Saigon for twenty five years we can draw many conclusions.
Oftentimes a topic neglected by soldiers and armies-especially by the United States armed forces, Shaplen gives the reader a profound understanding of Saigon’s sociological and cultural transformations. More importantly he compares each foreign influence on Saigon and how its lasting influence had altered the city either positively or negatively. Shaplen succeeds to reflect on the past and contemplate the future. His argument is that the Americans must understand the consequences that the war will have on the Siagonese culturally, sociologically, and economically. In order to build a productive future for Vietnam one must understand the cultural situation at hand. At certain points he even implies that the French, though not totally innocent themselves, better understood these cultural issues. Even though it did not help them win their war, they did retain some kind of social order.
Shaplen’s point of view is quite interesting. His essay opens up with him eating a meal at a restaurant in Cholon, a Chinese section of Saigon that reveals itself as a point of interest to Shaplen because of its social construction. Shaplen provides historical details on the early social stratification of Saigon starting from when the French first took over the south in 1862. Aside form obliterating resistance in the then tiny settlements of Saigon and Cholon, the French were also excellent urban planners. Much of their early success can be attributed to this. They opened several schools to train citizens in French and bridge the language and cultural gap. The French also worked with local Chinese and created a merchant class that retained economic potency. For this reason Cholon remains “The one part of Saigon that has retained its identity…for not even the long, abysmal war has had much of an effect there”. 1
Each phase of occupation has left an impression on Saigon according to Shaplen’s observations. The Americans did not attempt to colonize Vietnam as the French sought out to and subsequently their occupation was rather sloppy compared to the French. Shaplen interestingly compares the different elite’s created by the French and Americans, and what their roles had been in the society.
Of all the Occidental influences on Saigon the one that had remained from the French was their snobbery. The French imprinted their system of nepotism resulting in a defined social stratosphere that spawned an elite class whom lived in absolute grandeur, supported by a lower middle, and a poverty stricken class. Shaplen also talks about the generation gap between the young Vietnamese intellectuals and older politicians “The bureaucracy is still French oriented, immobilized, so although some younger people have been elected to the House of Representatives or to provincial and village councils, the appointive jobs are mostly held by older men.”
The American occupation brought several new money making opportunities--whether illicit or legitimate, but also created cultural mayhem. The difference is that the French, despite imposing their social system in Vietnam, did not seek to change the country culturally. They let the Vietnamese retain their traditions. The essay points out what American occupation has done to the city of Saigon culturally, economically and socially, and how it evolved from French takeover.
Culturally, Shaplen discusses how a hippie subculture was born into the city. Their characters ranged from the type of long haired hippie found in the US (the type of rich college boy that bought his way out of battle) to the unemployed street thugs referred to as cao-bois. Not only was the language influenced but also the behavior of youth changed. Young Saigonese favored hangouts usually frequented by American GI’s that played rock music and served American beer. For some reason or other, the Franco-educated Vietnamese did not feel imposed by French culture despite the fact that his life could have been altered as such; going to café’s or allowing his native cuisine to incorporate French influence. Perhaps the French were just better at exporting their culture to the world than Americans? The Americans also brought the need for vices that any psychologically damaged GI would need. The American forces were largely made up of nineteen year old conscripts unlike the French Foreign legion troops who were combat veterans. This contributed to the chaos even further as the need for hookers and drugs increased, or at least became more visible.
These cultural changes were definitely a direct byproduct of the economic changes that American occupation brought about. American construction companies provided work opportunities creating a class of new money that differed from the elites the French created, such as people who held positions that allowed them to become rich by conducting other illicit under a smokescreen of civil service. People from villages that were destroyed by the war flooded the streets of Saigon for a better life and greater stimulation; turning to begging, prostitution, and other typical vices one would find in a slum existed on the other end of the gamut. The vast and reckless urbanization of Saigon (American’s were not masterful urban planners like the French) directly contributed to a higher population density and subsequently more urban problems. As housing complexes were being constructed the number of hospitals did not increase, nor did public sanitation improve.
A drawback to French occupation was the influx of African legionaries brought in who were resented by the native public. Oriental foreigners on the other hand, were better received. The flooding of foreigners into Saigon contributed to the social decay of the city that Shaplen observes despite the innate Vietnamese xenophobia.
An important part of Vietnamese culture that was retained despite all of the Occidental influence was their belief in the mystic. Earning the trust of takes great care and effort. Tolerance of Vietnamese culture is an important aspect that many of the Americans could not learn and thus prevented them from getting to actually know the Vietnamese. Shaplen makes a point to discuss how even the most educated of the population still believed in some type of “soothsayer”.
Shaplen artistically weaves this belief in superstition the end of his essay for symbolic purposes. He speaks of elders displeased with how the youth has become Americanized. When contemplating the future of Saigon, Shaplen sums up entirely what the Americans should do. “Important as the rebuilding process is, social reconstruction and moral regeneration are more important”. To him, this is something the Americans owe to the people of Saigon, and to their own conscience.
1-We Have Always Survived. Reporting Vietnam Part One: American Journalism 1959-1969. Literary Classics of the United States, Inc. New York, NY. 1998 pg 281-334
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Site review: Musclehack.com
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Take Care,
-John
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