越战纪念碑与里根政府外交政策合法性建构

Vietnam War Memorial and the Construction of Legitimacy of Foreign Policy of Reagan Administration

越南战争结束后,作为战争遗留问题的美国越战退伍军人安置问题成为政府必须面对的政治问题之一。受越南战争特殊性的影响,这一群体具有不同于美国历史上其他退伍军人的特殊性。他们在爱国旗帜下参战,却以“失败者”的身份回国,因此这场战争给越战退伍军人留下了深刻的心理创伤。与此同时,不管是战争期间还是战后,美国民众对这场战争的不同态度已严重分裂了美国社会,影响了政府外交政策的制定以及政治合法性之构建。有鉴于此,越战退伍军人希望通过修建越战军人纪念碑,使美国社会认可他们对国家的贡献;里根政府亦希望通过纪念碑给越战退伍军人“正名”的方式,试图重构历史记忆,消解创伤,以治愈“越南综合征”,重拾民众对政府的信心,重构政治合法性。

In the post-Vietnam War,the question of how the nation should fulfill its obligations to its veterans has assumed a central role in American politics.Being a Vietnam Veteran,a veteran of a humiliated war,did not necessarily carry any privileged status;often it was as likely to evoke hostility or contempt.In the 1980s,the Vietnam War veterans began to claim for the national eternal recognition of their contributions more than the material and economic interests.At the same time,the Reagan Administration intended to win c让izens support for its diplomatic policy by means of constructing a memorial for those who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.