Popular Culture Review Vol. 8, No. 2, August 1997 | Page 70
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Popular Culture Review
Convention represents a symbolic confrontation between the
disenfranchised and the powerful, a conflict often at work in the
dialectical opposition between moralism and materialism. Through
this confrontation the oppressed can focus the attention of those in
power on social problems. For agents of change to succeed in this
symbolic confrontation they must "proceed through unfocused
alienation to increased psychological awareness."^^ Kovic's role as
an agent of change begins with his alienation from society as a
disabled Vietnam veteran. He ultimately reaches psychological
awareness which enables him to fight for the human dignity he and
other veterans deserve.
Reaching the front of the convention hall as Richard Nixon
accepts the Republican Presidential nomination, Kovic' s moving final
statement illustrates his rejection of the government which was
responsible for Vietnam:
People say if you don't love America, then get the hell
out. Well, I love Amerlca...We are here to say that we
don't have to take it anymore...They are killing our
brothers in Vietnam. We want them to hear the truth
tonight. This wheelchair, this steel, our steel, is your
Memorial Day on wheels....We are your Yankee
Doodle Dandy come home....The truth is they have
sacrificed a whole generation of young men.^
The veterans' protests both outside and inside the Convention Hall
demonstrated their opposition to the government's decision to send
more troops to Vietnam. They have rejected the government's
authority to lead. Vietnam veterans who joined the anti-war
protests became part of a movement which sought a fundamental
political change in U.S. military policy. These former soldiers begin
by acknowledging their participation in the war. Fisher argues that
moral appeals succeed only if individuals are able to accept
responsibility for their actions.^^ Thus, the soldiers have taken a
step that is necessary to affirm the moralistic myth.
Four years later, Kovic appears at the 1976 Democratic
convention, which completes his transformation. He recalls his
childhood and his mother's dream that someday he would be a
famous speaker. The peace of mind that comes from Kovic's