Talk about learning how to forgive and forget!
Visiting the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh is a stark reminder of the lives that are impacted during a time of war. While we were walking around the exhibitions, my emotions were all over the place - so much so that I had to sit down a few times!
Sadness. Your heart breaks so quickly for the people (or remnants of people) depicted in the graphic photographs - a human is a human - whether they are American, Southern Vietnamese, or part of the Viet Cong or northern Vietnamese communist party.
Anger. The Americans are presented in a very bad light - and even though our country makes mistakes, many facts were omitted and choice words were used in each of the exhibits. For someone with a burning love of country and pride, it made it difficult throughout the museum.
Understanding. Seeing the long-term effects of war on their land and the Vietnamese people and reading the words used to describe Americans in the 1960s and 1970s helped me begin to understand and believe that some people here deserve to be angry! If I were in their shoes, I would not be welcoming tourists with open arms!
Reverence. After walking out of the museum, as I said, I assumed that on the whole, locals would not be welcoming us with open arms. I was dead wrong. I am amazed at how the Vietnamese have the ability move on from pain and from the past... a lesson I could learn from them! I thought the Thai were friendly - and now I'm finding that the Vietnamese are also one of the most friendly cultures I have visited.
Fortune. Despite which side of a bias you believe, or how you recount history, the photographs in the museum tear your heart open. Between the mix of feeling sad, angry, more understanding, and even in awe of the Vietnamese people today - I also felt incredibly lucky. As an American, I don't think it hits home nearly enough how lucky I am that there has been no war in recent history on American soil. All of my "first world problems" do not seem so big right now....
Visiting the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh is a stark reminder of the lives that are impacted during a time of war. While we were walking around the exhibitions, my emotions were all over the place - so much so that I had to sit down a few times!
Sadness. Your heart breaks so quickly for the people (or remnants of people) depicted in the graphic photographs - a human is a human - whether they are American, Southern Vietnamese, or part of the Viet Cong or northern Vietnamese communist party.
Anger. The Americans are presented in a very bad light - and even though our country makes mistakes, many facts were omitted and choice words were used in each of the exhibits. For someone with a burning love of country and pride, it made it difficult throughout the museum.
Understanding. Seeing the long-term effects of war on their land and the Vietnamese people and reading the words used to describe Americans in the 1960s and 1970s helped me begin to understand and believe that some people here deserve to be angry! If I were in their shoes, I would not be welcoming tourists with open arms!
Reverence. After walking out of the museum, as I said, I assumed that on the whole, locals would not be welcoming us with open arms. I was dead wrong. I am amazed at how the Vietnamese have the ability move on from pain and from the past... a lesson I could learn from them! I thought the Thai were friendly - and now I'm finding that the Vietnamese are also one of the most friendly cultures I have visited.
Fortune. Despite which side of a bias you believe, or how you recount history, the photographs in the museum tear your heart open. Between the mix of feeling sad, angry, more understanding, and even in awe of the Vietnamese people today - I also felt incredibly lucky. As an American, I don't think it hits home nearly enough how lucky I am that there has been no war in recent history on American soil. All of my "first world problems" do not seem so big right now....
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