Adapt, Improvise, Overcome, Evolve

After spending five years aboard the HMS Beagle on an expedition to survey the flora and fauna of the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin returned to England with countless pages of writing and illustration. On Nov. 24, 1882, Darwin compiled these notes and published what is arguably one of the most formative texts in the modern world: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Though Darwin’s text was controversial upon its release, and though it undermined the religious principle of intelligent design, most of its criticism came from within the scientific community. The books became an instant bestseller and Darwin received multiple accolades for the theories put forth in this massive four volume work. His critics claimed that his theories were too subjective, including prominent scholars of the day such as John Stuart Mill. Today, Darwin is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time, and the influence of his seminal text on modern science continues to evolve in a manner similar to how he conceptualized changes in the Galapagos finches.

Seko Seizes Sovereignty

When Belgium lost its grasp over Congo in 1960, the future of the newly independent republic seemed bright. The recently elected government – a coalition formed between the Mouvement National Congolais and Alliance des Bakongo – appealed to a national, rather than an ethnic or regional base. The coalition was led by Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and President Joseph Kasa-Vubu, both of whom were charismatic and respected figures who had held leading roles in the struggle for independence. Yet, like many burgeoning post-colonial states, the politics of the Cold War would stifle the potential of this government. Faced with a secession crisis brought on by Belgian interference, Lumumba sought the assistance of both the U.S. and the United Nations to bring stability to his nation, but he was ignored. Thus, he turned to the Soviet Union for assistance: a decision heavily opposed by the Belgians, the Americans, Kasa-Vubu and Chief of Staff Sese Seko Mobutu. In a 1961 coup mounted by Mobutu and Kasa-Vubu – and backed by the U.S. American Central Intelligence Agency which feared the emergence of a communist state in Africa – Lumumba was deposed and executed by firing squad, while Mobutu took the Office of [Prime Minister] (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jan/17/patrice-lumumba-50th-anniversary-assassination). Mobutu remained in office for four years before deciding that the secondary position was insufficient for his ambitions, and in another coup on Nov. 24, 1965, he ousted Kasa-Vubu and claimed the presidency for himself. He held this position for 31 years, and in this time he would turn Congo – which he renamed Zaire – into a kleptocracy and arguably the most corrupt state in all of Africa.. Known for its flagrant human rights abuses, exploitative policies and poor leadership, Mobuto’s regime eventually came to an end in 1996 when he was ousted in a foreign-backed coup by a political rival, [Laurent-Desire Kabila] (https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/08/world/mobutu-sese-seko-zairian-ruler-is-dead-in-exile-in-morocco-at-66.html).

A Slight Overestimation

On the eve of Nov. 24, 1950, General Douglas MacArthur felt confident. Despite having only entered the war three months prior, the U.S. had succeeded in forcing North Korean forces not only out of South Korean territory, but all the way up to the Yalu river – the border between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the People’s Republic of China. Ignoring policy experts and the direct orders of President Truman, MacArthur was sure that his victory was in sight, and issued the order for all units to launch the Home by Christmas offensive. MacArthur believed A full-scale assault on the Chinese border would finally destroy the North Korean army and, in doing so, decisively end the war to unite Korea under the Southern government of Syngman Rhee. Predictably, MacArthur was wrong and the experts were right. When the UN forces led by the U.S. military pushed the North Korean troops to the Chinese border, they were confronted by Chinese units which responded decisively and violently. The very next day, China further responded by actively entering the Korean War and, more importantly, by sending a counter-invasion force of as many as 300,000 soldiers to repel the [UN forces] (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3637092?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents). In the face of this failure, MacArthur remained unrelenting in his belief that Communism could be rolled back, and continued proposing extreme strategies to end the war, such as the use of nuclear weapons. This, combined with his dedicated stance of ignoring orders from the U.S. government, would lead to his firing as the commander of UN forces in Korea on April 11, 1951.

Calley Charged, Chastised, but Never Castigated

On March 6, 1968, American soldiers massacred over 500 South Vietnamese civilians around the village of [Mỹ Lai] (https://www.npr.org/2018/03/16/594364462/my-lai-massacre-of-1968-continues-to-resonate-in-america). This was prompted by the paranoia and anger birthed from Tết Offensive – a massive poorly planned assault launched by the National Liberation Front and the North Vietnamese Army which failed to capitalize on U.S. unpreparedness but nonetheless claimed the lives of many. In response, the U.S. military called for a reinvigoration of the search and destroy [initiative] (https://www.npr.org/2018/01/29/580811124/military-victory-but-political-defeat-the-tet-offensive-50-years-later), where units were sent to sweep the southern countryside to expose and eliminate as many Viet Cong as possible. For reasons that are still hotly debated, the soldiers present at Mỹ Lai determined that the appropriate course of action was to burn down houses, torture and rape people and then have them all executed in mass graves.

When other American units in the surrounding regions were made aware of the atrocities committed by their colleagues, they rushed to intervene, but it was too late. All they could do was report what they saw, and then watch the U.S. military and government actively choose to ignore their testimonies. When this travesty was finally made public by reporters in 1969, the world was outraged and called for those responsible to be held accountable. In response, on Nov. 24, 1969, the U.S. government charged Second Lieutenant William Calley Jr. with the premediated murder of 109 civilians. In a 1971 trial entirely conducted by military brass, Calley was found guilty of 22 counts of murder and given a life sentence. This verdict was controversial to say the least: while some Americans thought he should die for his crimes, others felt that he was just a scapegoat, and some still believed he was a war hero. In the end none of this would matter, because Calley would only actually serve three years under house arrest.