Carol C White

Foreign travel can change your world

I was a college student living abroad in France in 1965. Up until that time I was a midwestern girl oblivious to politics and following my dad's political views, which were very conservative. In November 1963 the Kennedy assasination started opening my mind to the possibility that the world and America was not the island of tranquility I thought.

The Kennedy assassination started opening my mind to the possibility that America was not the island of tranquility I thought.

I was riding in a taxi in Paris and the driver suddenly said "Why are you Americans in Vietnam? Don't you know what a disaster we French went through?"

I thought to myself: "Are we in Vietnam?" When I went back to Stanford in fall 1965, I was determined to find out why we were fighting in Vietnam and what I thought about it. There were many speak outs and debates among students, faculty, and outside experts. I went to as many as I could.

After a while I decided that the US should not be fighting in a civil war in Vietnam and started going to protests. Later, when some students were holding a blood drive for the National Liberation Front, I came to decide that I was on the side of the NLF. My world view of who were the "good guys" and who were the "bad guys" was changed forever.

Now in my late 60s I have been to Vietnam 3 times as a tourist. I have met many US vets who have gone back to build libraries, schools, and atone in some way for the destruction the US caused.