Basic Information
Name: Ernest Henry Gruening
Nickname: Vietnam Dissenter #2, Mr. Dove, Peaceful Ernie
Born: February 6, 1887
Died: June 26, 1974
Nationality: USA
Hometown: New York City
WORK & EDUCATION
Occupation: United States Senator, Governor of Alaska
Education: Harvard University
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Spouse: Dorothy Smith
Children: Sonny, Hunt, Peter Brown
Friends: Wayne Morse, Alaskans, Vietnamese, war protestors
Foes: The rest of Congress, war-hungry generals, Robert McNamara
Analysis
While not as outspoken as Wayne Morse, Mr. Gruening became famous for being the only other Congressman to vote against the Tonkin Gulf Resolution. He said "no way" to the idea of getting involved in Vietnam, and he stuck to his beliefs against most of the U.S. government. That's some serious peer pressure he stood up against.
In fact, Gruening believed getting out of Vietnam was the most important issue at the time. In 1969 he wrote:
It is, and for some time has been, obvious that the most important issue facing our nation is to get out of the war in Southeast Asia. All our other issues and problems are slighted, impaired and unresolved until we half the fighting, stop the […] continuing drain of blood and treasure, and turn to the long-neglected and pressing needs at home. (Source)
A drain of blood and treasure? Wow, this guy was pretty serious about making Vietnam sound like a bad idea.
The thing is, many people in government were probably opposed to the war, but publicly saying so was different entirely. Gruening (and his buddy Wayne Morse) had the guts to stand up to Congress, and given how future Americans would look back on the war, turns out they might have been right.
See? It is possible to stand up to peer pressure. Just use cool words like blood and treasure.