Well said! Me, too.
In 1974 I was protesting Vietnam and Nixon. In 1975 Saigon fell, and the North won. We were elated, and actually thought peace would now finally come to that troubled region. Then in 1976 we heard about the Cambodian massacres by the Khmer Rouge, the re-education camps, and the brutality that comes from communistic totalitarianism. I remember telling my friends that we should protest the communists, too.
I was told in no uncertain terms, that, “Hey man, the war’s over, and so is the draft. We don’t care anymore, and the communists have a right to kill all those who opposed them for 15 years.” “Even women and children?” I asked. “So what”, I was told. “Oh, and pass that bong, man, don’t bogart it.”
I joined the USAF that year, and voted for Reagan, even though Ford won the nomination. 1976 was my epiphany year.
Great post AB!