Miscommunication Nation

From this week’s readings there is one quote that works as an all-encompassing thesis of what we’ve learned thus far:

“Who, if anyone, in this great land actually receives accurate and unbiased information about the outside world?” –George F. Keenan’s “Long Telegram”

This quote is applicable to all we’ve seen and read in class. Secrecy, conspiracy, and miscommunication pollute local, national, and international relations. This demeanor can and has negatively affected the bond between the government and other nations, the government and its constituents, and even within the government to other sectors or actors of the government. Although this evasive, elusive nature has a negative impact on various levels, our focus is currently drawn to the negative effects that secrecy, conspiracy, and miscommunication can have on international relations.

One of the first displays we saw in class of secrecy, conspiracy, and miscommunication negatively affecting our relationship with another nation is when Robert McNamara speaks about the Vietnam War in the documentary, “The Fog of War”. McNamara describes this atrocious war as a “total misunderstanding”. The U.S. saw the Vietnamese as an element of the Cold War; a pawn of China and Russia, and the Vietnamese saw the war as a civil war in which they were fighting for their independence. To lose over one million soldiers (U.S. and Vietnamese combined) in a war that was fought over a “total misunderstanding” is outrageous and unfathomable. It’s a trickle-down effect of bad information traveling; it’s like the “telephone game” with adults with immense amounts of power and deadly weapons. To me it’s unconscionable that somewhere along the line not one person comes out to say “this doesn’t make sense” or “that doesn’t seem right”, until after the death toll has reached over 1 million (in military casualties, alone) and then it’s a “total misunderstanding”.

Another display of secrecy, conspiracy, and misunderstanding affecting our relationships with other nations is in this week’s readings of primary source documents. It’s very interesting to contrast and compare the documents from the Soviets and the U.S. One of the reasons it is so interesting is because they have essentially the same image of one another. Each side is writing from the position of defense; speaking of the over nation aiming for “world domination”, attempting “hegemony”, urging that it is essential to up their defense against the other nation whose speculated to be settled on some sort of global takeover. It’s actually semi-amusing to read because the narratives sound so similar, at times it’s hard to decipher whose documents you’re reading. I didn’t think you could fight a war with two defensive players and no offense, but apparently you can. What lead to the Cold War, from what I took away from these documents, was the utter paranoia and speculation of eminent destruction coming from the other side, fueled by secrecy, conspiracy, and miscommunication.

It is interesting, to say the least, how misinformation can be passed along within the government, to other nations, and then to the public, often unscathed, utter speculation and misinformation still intact. It is further interesting that once this all happens, we, the public have to take responsibility in putting together the pieces and finding the truth.