We begin the new year studying the concept of civil disobedience. Our lesson plan centers on emphasis on college students who disagreed with the Vietnam War.

We will also examine the protesters who spoke out against the design of the Vietnam Memorial but then ultimately found it a moving, fitting, and proper tribute to fallen soldiers. Open-mindedness is an important attribute of citizenship, and even protesters can change their minds. We, E's parents, were at the Memorial's dedication ceremony 25 years ago. Four million people now visit the Memorial each year.

Here is a recent Washington Post interview with Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

The VVMF's Lesson Plans for studying Vietnam and the Wall are provided here in PDF format.

We begin with Henry David Thoreau's 1849 essay, Civil Disobedience. Click here at thoreauserver.org for full text.