Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of The Asahi Shimbun.
April 30, 2025 at 14:15 JST
It was the so-called “best and brightest” elites, assembled under the presidency of John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), who steered the United States into the quagmire of the Vietnam War.
For his seminal 1972 book “The Best and the Brightest,” American journalist David Halberstam (1934–2007) conducted 500 interviews with U.S. government officials and others to uncover how a cadre of highly educated, confident policymakers made decisions that led to one of the most disastrous conflicts in American history.
At the heart of Halberstam’s dogged investigation was a sense of personal responsibility. As a correspondent for The New York Times covering the war from South Vietnam, he initially believed in the American cause.
Reflecting on that time in "The Best and the Brightest," he wrote: “I thought our system the better, our values exportable, and thought perhaps with luck and skill our side might win.”
During the Cold War, the U.S. government justified its involvement in the Vietnam War with the “domino theory,” arguing that the fall of South Vietnam to the communist North would trigger the spread of communism across Asia.
Officials also portrayed the war as favorably progressing toward victory. However, reports from correspondents on the ground painted a starkly different picture: the North Vietnamese forces, the enemy of the United States in the war, were more resilient and adept at winning the trust and allegiance of the local population.
Journalists from across the globe converged to report “truths” about the Vietnam War, often challenging the narratives presented by U.S. authorities. Their photographs and footage captured the harrowing impact of the conflict on innocent civilians who fell victims, particularly children and farmers, sparking widespread antiwar sentiment.
Fifty years ago today, the Vietnam War concluded with the fall of the South Vietnamese government, marking the first military defeat in U.S. history. The aftermath brought renewed focus to the psychological toll on veterans, leading to the recognition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a formal mental health diagnosis.
In his article “A Letter to My Daughter,” first published in Parade magazine in 1982 and later featured in the Japanese edition of "The Best and the Brightest," Halberstam wrote: “For all too often in this world, and I think with increasing force, the present seeks to obliterate the past—something I hope you will not lightly accept.”
His words underscore the importance of preserving even painful memories and learning from past mistakes—a sentiment that remains profoundly relevant today.
—The Asahi Shimbun, April 30
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
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Journalist David Halberstam at his home in New York (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
