Australia and the Vietnam War essays

Australia and the Vietnam War essays The reasons for the Australian involvement in the Vietnam conflict are not difficult to understand. Australia's foreign policy in the 1950s and 1960s responded to what appeared to be the downward push of aggressive communism in South-East Asia and the need to meet these threats away from Australia. It was clear also that because the United States was involved in this war, Australia would support its great ally and friend. As Australia had assisted the United States in the Korean War so, too, it was prepared to become involved in the Vietnam War. The Menzies government, fearful of communism in Asia, saw any communist victory in South Vietnam as a threat to Australia. Given Australia's military weakness and the potential danger from our nearest neighbor, the very unstable Indonesia, it was in Australia's interests to commit the United States to Asia and the fight against communism. As Britain withdrew from its world commitments, the Australian government saw the United States as the powerful Western nation to take its place. It was in Australia's best interest for this to happen, and Australia's role in Vietnam was motivated by this determination to keep the United States involved in Asia. Through diplomatic channels the Australian government encouraged the United States' involvement in Vietnam and showed its good faith by sending troops as well. Compared with the size of the US force, the size of the Australian force was never great, and its military significance was slight. At the height of Australia's involvement in Vietna m, its troop level numbered only 8300, while the US troop level reached 720 000. What was important was Australia's political support as an ally. It fitted in with the concept of forward defence, and once again Australia had the support of a great and powerful ally. This time, however, the great and powerful friend was not Australia's traditional ally Britain but a new ally, the United St ...

How to Hang in for the Long Haul

How to Hang in for the Long Haul Why do I love C. Hope Clark’s protagonist Carolina Slade? She’s relentless in the pursuit of truth. She steps around those who say â€Å"no.† She’s a maverick tuned straight into reality - a heroine with her feet in clay, not ether. Writers need this persistence. We shrug off rejection, doubt, and the unknown. This gig ain’t for flakes. Most days, nobody cares what you do. But anything worth doing plays Think about the Nobel Prize recipients in Physics. Englebert and Higgs discovered the Higgs-Boson, aka the God particle, in 1954. Fifty-nine years passed with no one knowing their names. What’d they do in the meantime? Kept working. Followed their passion. Writers in it for the long haul know work never stops; the mountaintop is never â€Å"achieved.† No matter who notices, we must love the invisible toil. In a culture where fans scream for blood after a few losses and ba When I began reading FundsforWriters, I had a pile of unknown stories and a novel languishing after 15 years. Hope’s words comforted me, as did leads from Poets Writers. I began submitting to contests and magazines. Every time I got a submission confirmation, I got a ping of validation. Since childhood I’ve read voraciously, so I made time for this love. I embarked on my personal MFA to study great writers, annotating religiously. Then I returned to my rough stuff, inspired. I found supportive writers’ groups. People said nice, tough things, motivating me to revise. In 2008 a small-circulation magazine accepted a story. Then in 2009, I won a contest. I spent the money on a laptop. This inspired me to start a novel about a teen girl obsessed with Michael Jackson. I got up mornings before work and in six months wrote a draft. I had no idea there would be 25 more. I continued to follow Hope’s journey. Through her I found Nathan Bransford’s and Rachelle Gardner’s blogs. I joined Querytracker. I began querying agents and after 150 emails, found one in 2011. I was a finalist for the James Jones Fellowship and denied a grant. I parted ways with my agent in 2012. I re-applied for the grant in 2012 and got it. (FundsforWriters lead!) Now I’ve published two books: a YA novel and a short-story collection. I have a beautiful website (thank you, Shaila Abdullah!). Check out my trailer, signings, and other news at lynhawks.com. I’ve learned to love The Slog this way: Subscribe to newsletters like FFW. Submit to publications, contests, and grants. Make deadlines and new drafts. Have a goal each day and week. Check off lists. See progress. Make sacred writing time. Defend it like your firstborn. Go for The Personal MFA. Revel in words. Talk to artists who celebrate ups and suffer downs. (I married a musician.) Keep your beloved pet near Find beta readers to keep your story alive. Celebrate what goes well, like the encouraging rejection. Give yourself a daily reward, like a lattà ©. (Caffeine Rewards Program) Find every way to fan the flames of writing love. Be a true fan of you. That’s how this writer does the long haul.