Iraqi soldiers assigned to the 71st Iraqi Army Brigade move closer to an objective during a simulated exercise under fire at Camp Taji, Iraq, November 18, 2015. This training is in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve, a coalition of 60-plus nations that have joined together against ISIS. (Photo: Spc. William Marlow / US Army)
It was half a century ago, but I still remember it vividly. “We have to help South Vietnam,” I explained. “It’s a sovereign nation being invaded by another nation, North Vietnam.”
“No, no,” my friend protested. “There’s just one Vietnam, from north to south, divided artificially. It’s a civil war. And we have no business getting involved. We’re just making things worse for everyone.”
At the time, I hadn’t heard anyone describe the Vietnam War that way. Looking back, I see it as my first lesson in a basic truth of political life – that politics is always a contest between competing narratives. Accept a different story and you’re going to see the issue differently, which might leave you open to supporting a very different policy. Those who control the narrative, that is, are likely to control what’s done, which is why governments so regularly muster their resources – call it propaganda or call it something else – to keep that story in their possession.