War Remnants Museum, Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City's "War Remnants" Museum is the country's most comprehensive collection of historical records and items from the Vietnam War. US reconnaissance planes, bombers, helicopters, tanks, and torture devices have been preserved and are on display for anyone willing to pay a $0.70 entry fee. The legacy of the war, which pitted the US and its allies against the socialist opposition during our Cold War hypersensitivity to far-left groups, is tangible throughout the countryside and illuminated by the museum; active minefields and bombs still litter rural areas and noticeable anti-American sentiments purportedly exist as one travels northward and away from metropolitan areas. The museum underscores an ethical paradox that our now violent society seems to disregard: when a government even considers whether or not it has the right to bombard civilian areas, it is no longer engaging in a political debate, but rather demonstrating our human capacity to devalue the lives of others different from ourselves.Read more