Rainbow Death Analysis

America did not foresee
Green, pink, purple and other colors death potpourri!
Expecting others to pay a high price.
Now thinking twice?
Toll on the innocent and unborn.

Omnipotent and disregarding who will mourn.
Reflective about all the illness, birth defects and prematurely dead.
All the deceit continues to spread.
Nefariously America led astray -
Generations untold WILL pay -
Execrable effects of agent orange spray!
Hubert WilsonBackgroundThis poem was written by Hubert Wilson, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the USAF Security Service. Hubert along with a dozen or so intelligence school grads, were prepped for around 14 months at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, Texas, before anticipating to be deployed in Vietnam or elsewhere in southeat Asia in 1970. About half of them ended up in Da Nang, which was an Agent Orange hotspot, in the 6924th Security Squadron. The rest of them were assigned to Shemya Island, Alaska, with the 6984th Security Squadron, which eventually became a more contaminated environment than Da Nang.
ConflictThis conflict occurred during the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1971, where the Americans were supporting the South Vietnamese in their battle against North Vietnam, in an attempt to restrict the spread of communism. Why this poem is significant to both the Americans and the Vietcong (North Vietnam) is because Herbicidal Warfare was engaged, in which a chemical weapon known as "Agent Orange" was used. Agent orange is the code name for an herbicide and defoliant,contaminated with TCDD, which was used by the U.S. military in its herbicidal warfare program during the Vietnam War. Its intended purpose was to remove the leaves of the trees in the dense jungles of Vietnam, to destroy the Vietcong's hiding locations. However, it contained certain chemicals that harmed the humans body system. Birth Defects and other disabilities were present with those who had contact with this herbicide weapon. According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects.
Point of View This poem is written in an intellectual point of view. It roughly summarises the situation, which depicts the horrors and agony of both the innocent and the convicted. This is shown from almost the entire poem, which explains their wrongdoing and urgent need to stop such herbicide warfare to prevent any more of such horrors to take place. It might have been written in a third person point of view because “America”, which is repeated in the poem for could instead be personified as another person in the poem.
Situation and SettingThe situation as stated in "Rainbow Death" combines both emotions and social matter. The nature of this conflict is a combination of ethics and social characteristics. "America did not foresee” that “Green, pink, purple and other colour deaths potpourri” shows that America sincerely did not intend the effects of their different coloured herbicides to be extremely deadly. “Generations untold WILL pay” and “Execrable effects of the Orange Spray” shows that the unsightly effects of “Agent Orange” will be passed on to the next generation and the next of Vietnamese people, affecting the innocent lives of the children yet to be born. Thus, this shows the low ethic level of the Americans as they did not care for the next generation, which would forever be a negative impact on the Vietnamese society.

Language and Diction The poet presents conveys his message in a rather straightforward way, which makes the readers understand it easily. There tone used was also rather humorous and chirpy, as we can see from “America did not foresee”, “Now thinking twice?” and "Execrable effects of agent orange spray!". Though America was not being able to foresee the pain and agony the herbicides would cause to the people to such a great extent, they failed to think twice , which implies that even after the Americans realised the horrific effects of herbicidal warfare , they continued to implement such a measure, signifying their little regret and guiltiness. It also shows that America had gone against its principals it had uphold, which is freedom and to ensure the welfare of its people.
Personal ResponseI have learnt that war is a terrible thing, and that we should resort to war only as the last choice. Matters and disputes should be resolved politically and diplomatically, when possible. As it would not only affect the present generation, but future generations as well. Bloodshed and suffering could be avoided if we as humans learn to compromise, to love and share, and to empathise with one another. War causes us to override our principals which govern our lives, to go against our conscience and ultimately, it will reveal the inner evil of us that we try so hard to conceal, and turn us into savages and barbarians.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orangehttp://www.warpoetry.co.uk/2010warpoetry.html#Rainbow