Page 24 - The Viet-Cong Tet_Offensive_1968

by the sight of long amrnunition convoys and the 6ound of gunfire and
bombexplosions'onthewholetheterriblewarhadnodrarnaticirnpabt
on them beyond the ef{ecte of an inflationary spiral that only hit wage
earner6. The greater availability of rnoney created a semblance of
affluence unparaLl"eled in the rnodern history of South Vietnarn'
Tet was to give this apparently alfluent 6ociety'a golden
opportunity to spend their rnoney surplus. Two weeks before the tra-
aitional celebration tirne,hundreds of parties were given each night in
Saigon without regard for their high costs.
The celebrations were not just lirnited to the rich and
very rich, Ernployees of U.S. agencies and the great majority of the
*otkirrg classes who had been enjoying incornparable pay conditions'
thanks to the shortage of labor, aleo had plenty of rnoney to buy what-
ever they pleased. ProBtitutes and their great purchasing power also
contributed to the creation of an atrnosphere of unparalLeled prospel-

itv. .
Even servicemen and civil servants, the poorest of thern
all in the new social structuae, did their best to joint in the buying
spree unwilling to give their loved oneF the impression that they had
gone down the last step of the social sca1e. There were many caseg
If *agu-."trters pawning their rnost precious possessions in order to
give their children a decent Tet.
. Arnong the politically-conscious Vietnarne se,many thought
the critical situation of the land demanded a total divorce with past
traditions and the initiation of new ways of I'ife rnore cornPatible with
the sacriJices and suffering of the rnajority. But their views were
unheeded.
The face o{ society was one of rapid deterioration with
traditional rnoral values 6wept aEide while new ones had yet to be
adopted, Horno homini - ll:pua,each was only living f or hirnself try-
'
irrg t is t *itfr tlr" ittflrtiotr while those with the opportunity
"iT-lo "op"
to get rich fast continued to accumulate more wealth at the expense of
the {ighting rnen and the rnasse6'

This crisis had its best reflectron in the lrlanner in which
Tet wa6 celebrated. When the Year of the Monkey arrived it was gree-
GTwith an unprecendented and uninterrupted exploBion of Jirecrackers'
Ten five-yard-long strings of fire-crakere could be seen hanging at the
gate s o{ many lnansions. To share in the amount of luck of the new

!u"", the poorest among the poor also joined in the fun'
"rr"r,
)a