http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/museum.hom/museum_exhibit_images/timeline/EPILOG.JPGLyndon B. Johnson has always been one of the more confusing leaders to me in American history. I applaud his efforts to right this country socially and in such a turbulent time he showed remarkable poise. How many men can inherit the presidency after an assassination and still have the will to carry out such ambitious plans as he proposed. But at the same time, I can never really forgive or understand LBJ's position in Vietnam. What was the point of his escalation of this conflict? How could he support so many well meaning and humanitarian programs at home but be involved in so much bloodshed overseas?
This museum helped me to understand a little more about LBJ's mindset. Tucked away in a section about the bloody and costly Vietnam War was a quote by LBJ. In it, he described that he understood the frustrations of the younger generations. He understood their frustrations that they were being seemingly sent off to die for treaties and political negotiations that occurred before they were even born. But the younger generations must understand that the struggles of older generations provide them with the freedoms they enjoy to this day, and as such they must inherit both the bad and the good of preceding generations.
http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/usa/images-3/vietnam-war-soldiers.jpgThis was a remarkable and levelheaded approach to this issue that I had never really considered. This quote definitely helped clarify LBJs position to me. He wasn't a mindless killer of the youth generation, rather he was doing what he considered was in the best interest of this nation and as such he believed that while the war in Vietnam was awful and regrettable it was as such a necessary evil to combat communism.
I think he applied this same philosophy to domestic welfare programs and his War on Poverty. Such was his traditional rural Texas background that he had a connection with the plight of everyday Americans that few Presidents ever, or will ever, have. He saw the issue of poverty as one of the major domestic problems in America and much as he did in Vietnam he poured all of his energy and resources into combating it. He left not stone unturned, and many programs we now take for granted, such as Medicare and Medicaid, have been left in tact as his legacy.
I could never see myself committing myself to issues and problems on such a complete level as LBJ did. In that way I have a newfound respect for his actions. Hes no longer the president who allowed the baby killer American soldiers to run rampant in the jungles of Vietnam, rather he was the President who did everything in his power to do what he thought was best for our country. And that deserves plenty of praise.
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