One major aspect of this reading of Fred A. Wilcox’s Scorched Earth: Legacy of Chemical Warfare
in Vietnam is that it does not try to minimize the impact on agent orange not
only in destroying crops but also in destroying the lives of those who had to
live with it in the environment. This started with the concept of how Agent
Orange was told to not be a poison and that anyone who said otherwise was
suspect of being part of the Viet Cong. This not only silenced those who stood
against it but also attempted to control the public feeling about using a
chemical like this on humans or plants alike.
What really stood out to me though was on how it majorly
impacted the farming communities in regards to food. Although I myself am not
the best at being socially conscious about what food I’m eating, I still don’t
want me or my kids to suffer from tumors. It was shown in families that did eat
the food contaminated by Agent Orange that they could come down with tumors
which would slowly grow. In one situation, “His entire body is covered with
tumors the size of golf balls” (Wilcox 179). Immobilized because of this, it
was explained that this happened after he ate potatoes impacted by Agent Orange.
They formed, started growing and immobilized him. As someone who enjoys
potatoes, I was shocked to see that named as the main cause for the tumor. It’s
scary to think that my food choices now help determine my health and ability to
take care of myself as I grow older.
However, this paper does not intend to be
a full conversation of how potatoes with chemicals can hurt someone really
badly. It is an example of how war actions enacted on another country can be
felt by them way longer than the end of the war. Grandparents, parents, and
children are still dealing with the side effects of Agent Orange. By adding the
letters from some of those negatively impacted by Agent Orange, some of whom
currently have children or spouses with disabilities due to the side effects of
the harsh chemicals dropped onto a country that we had waged war with a long
time ago.
My biggest question after reading this is: what chemicals are
we ignoring that could potentially cause so much harm to us and others around
the world?
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