My reason for choosing this topic.

My reason for choosing this topic is because being from Southeast Asia, the effects of the Vietnam war is still felt  in present day in the ASEAN reigion. And from reading this chapter in Mightier than a Sword, I gained a much deeper insight into the history,politics and most importantly importance of television that played into the war. This chapter highlights how television is the most powerful medium in history. That is truly undeniable, even though pictures in print are worth a thousand words, images that are communicated through television are vivid in color and motions and conveys more than a thousand words to its viewers.  The television had the tremendous power to reach into every corner of American society to send them the true message of the war. Without censorship. It communicated words through it's footages that could not otherwise be conveyed via words in print. Americans depended on the television as their major news source when the reality of the battlefield was brought to them to their living rooms through the television. When people saw blood on their screens in all its glory, they were exposed to the reality and brutalities of war. Over the few years, television journalists Greg Harris and Jack Perkins from NBC narrated the war to their viewers with vivid and emotional descriptions completed with bloody scenes, no one could turn their eyes away from their television sets. However, Americans soon realized the truth about the Vietnam war and started changing their opinions and withdrawing the support for the war from the Tet offenses, the Zippo cigarette lighter which torched an entire Vietnamese village and a Southern Vietnamese, a U.S. ally who shot a prisoner in cold blood without trail. All of these images were brought to American's viewers and stunned the entire Nation and not to mention, the entire world. Walter Cronkite, a legendary journalist, was determined to uncover the truth about what really was going on and flew across the world. His statement to America through television was that no one really was winning the war, the power of his words and status as a legendary journalist carried such tremendous weight that Johnson had to step down. With the coverage of protests and protesters dying due to finding out about Nixon sending in more troops, this was conveyed through the media to the public and sent a message about morals. This shows us how extremely powerful the news media is, that it can literally shape and determine history. Through what they say, Americans chose not to continue with the war. Without the help of the news media and television, the war would probably have continued longer than it did with never ending problems and limited solutions. Journalists are some of the most powerful people in this world and without them reporting the realities of the war, things might have turned out very different with extremely negative consequences. Much worse than the present day effects of the Vietnam War. Exposing the reality of the war, bloodbath and all to the everyday American shows the democratic system of America, as this is something that is not allowed in a media that is controlled by it's government. Through the voice of credible news journalists and the media, the story of the powerful, the powerless, the victims and the deception of politics and politicians to the American society about the war was narrated to Americans in the most graphic and vivid details imaginable.