The Thích Quảng Đức Episode (A Snapshot from The Cold War's Killing Fields)

In October I read Paul Thomas Chamberlin's The Cold War Killing Fields, which I wrote about here. During the time I was reading it I repeatedly indicated to people that it was one of the saddest books I've ever read. The sadness came from two sources. First, because of the quantity of human suffering that has occurred over the course of my lifetime since World War II. And second, my own grief over the role the U.S. has played in contributing to civilian suffering in so many places and in so many ways.

The power of the book comes from the author's efforts to bring context to the manifold stories which may have made national news but which were presented without our real understanding. Many stories show how the U.S. government deliberately twisted the facts in order to achieve its own ends. Eventually, as in the case of the Viet Nam War, the public no matter trusted its government's interpretations and spin.

It's my hope to produce a series of blog posts highlighting several examples from our recent history so that we understand more clearly why there are such divergent views and attitudes about who we are as a nation.

The story of Thích Quảng Đức begins on page 201 in Chamberlin's book. It produced one of the most memorable images from the conflict in Southeast Asia, a Buddhist monk self-immolating. What was less clear to most Americans was the reason this man burned himself to death in the middle of a busy intersection.

Quảng Đức was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese government led by Ngô Đình Diệm. Viet Nam was between 70 and 90% Buddhist, but the U.S. backed President Diem was Catholic. The sacrificial death aimed to draw attention to the persecution and policies of the Diem government.

Malcolm Browne of the Associated Press won a Pulitzer Prize for the photo. Browne and David Halberstam of the New York Times were present because the day before someone notified the press corps in Saigon that "something important" was going to happen outside the Cambodian Embassy the following morning. Most of the reporters ignored this information,

The incident sparked protests throughout the country. In response President Diem declared martial law and claimed the protests were stoked by the National Liberation Front (NLF). The First Lady remarked that she "would clap hands at seeing another monk barbecue show."

John Kennedy and his administration were at odds as to how to respond to these events. Diem had to go but would the next puppet president be any better? Ultimately our government solved the problem by supporting a coup that began on November 1 with U.S. government approval and on November 2 Diem, having surrendered, was shot inside an armored vehicle while being taken into custody. 20 days later the U.S. president would likewise be on the receiving end of a bullet in the head.

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The incident that triggered this unraveling of the Diem government took place on June 11. On June 12 another significant event occurred. NAACP leader and civil rights activist Medgar Evers, was shot from behind and killed as he walked toward his home in Mississippi after a long day's work. The incident was one of many that strengthened the resolve of civil rights leaders across the country and especially throughout the Jim Crow South.

Two powerful songs were written in response to this cold-blooded murder, Nina Simone's Missisippi Goddam and Bob Dylan's Only a Pawn in Their Game, which he sang later that summer at the Washington D.C. March for Civil Rights, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963. 

* * * * 

Grief is a process that though hard to go through is intended to result in acceptance and measure of healing or inner resolution. Those stages are (1) denial, (2) anger, (3) bargaining, (4) depression, and (5) acceptance. What I have learned over the course of a lifetime is that the grieving process takes time, sometimes years and sometimes decades.

Is it possible that moving from innocence to maturity is a process similar to grief in which we have to come to terms with lost innocence. We know the Peter Pan Syndrome is about boys who won't grow up. Is it possible that we have over-believed in the goodness of our government, America the Beautiful, beacon of light to the world?

Marvin Gaye nailed it when he sang, "What's Goin' On?" in 1970.  And the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes seems to have had all this in mind when he wrote,

"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; 

 the more knowledge, the more grief." (Eccles. 1:18)

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS STORY 

1. Chamberlin's book provides context to help us understand many of the news stories we heard about or observed during our lifetimes.

2. Events of 1963 became a critical turning point in both the war in Southeast Asia and in the Civil Rights movement in America.

3. American power has not always been used benevolently or wisely. The attempt to help people gain a more realistic picture of our nation and its abuses of power should not be taken to be akin to "hate America first." There are reasons people distrust power. We need to understand where people are coming from in order to be bridge-builders instead of wall-builders.

Related Links
My initial review of  The Cold War's Killing Fields
Everything Is Broken
The 1971 Concert for Bangladesh

Why?

Why? Why why why why why why why why?

It is a question we often don't ask because we do not know the answer. Or we're afraid of the answer Or can't handle the answer? Don't trust the answer?

In June 1963 a Bhuddist monk sat down in the middle of a busy intersection in Saigon, South Viet Nam, and set himself on fire. A photographer was there as well as David Halberstam of the New York Times and a few other journalists. I was eleven at the time and I do not know if it ever entered my mind to ask, "Why would somebody do this?" but that image made an impression on me.

Why would a person do a thing like this? First, you must understand that he was not just a person. He was a human being with a name. He was Thích Quảng Đức, and his act was a protest against the religious persecution the Buddhists were experiencing at the hands of Viet Nam dictator Ngo Dinh Diem. The U.S. government liked Diem because he was anti-communist, killing and torturing them while consolidating his own power. Because of this, U.S. leaders averted their eyes when Diem also raided Buddhist pagodas and treated the monks badly.

Growing up I understood none of this. But then again, the U.S. newspapers only gave us a photo, which seared into our minds without having a full meaning. Thich Quang Duc's friends, however, understood the meaning of his act. They were there. One even offered to sacrifice himself in Thich Quang Duc's place.

The last words of Thích Quảng Đức before his self-immolation were documented in a letter he had left:

Before closing my eyes and moving towards the vision of the Buddha, I respectfully plead to President Ngo Dinh Diem to take a mind of compassion towards the people of the nation and implement religious equality to maintain the strength of the homeland eternally. I call the venerables, reverends, members of the sangha and the lay Buddhists to organise in solidarity to make sacrifices to protect Buddhism.

David Halberstam, the Pullitzer Prize-winning journalist who covered the conflict in Viet Nam and the civil rights movement among other things, wrote:

I was to see that sight again, but once was enough. Flames were coming from a human being; his body was slowly withering and shriveling up, his head blackening and charring. In the air was the smell of burning human flesh; human beings burn surprisingly quickly. Behind me I could hear the sobbing of the Vietnamese who were now gathering. I was too shocked to cry, too confused to take notes or ask questions, too bewildered to even think... As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him.

Americans may not have grasped it, but President Diem understood the significance of this act. Or more importantly, he grasped what it meant when the journalists shone a light on what was happening there in Viet Nam. Before the year ended, his own power was cut off and he, too, was dead.

It is a powerful thing when people are willing to die for their convictions.

Source for details of this story: Wikipedia