Vietnam's Turbulent History of Defeat & Freedom. Paper Example

Vietnam has had a turbulent history of defeat from the First Chinese Dominion of Vietnam that took place in 111 BCE, to 1885's French Indochina establishment, and the Japan invasion during the Second World War. These lose took a turn from the year 1940s when a great man in the history of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, fruitfully liberated Vietnam from imperialism in 1945 during the August Revolution, and successfully in 1954, he ended the battle of Dien Bien Phu ("Ho Chi Minh"). Although Ho is in some locations regarded as a hardnosed communist leader, he is yet recognized as a significant figure in the history of Vietnam Republic. His catacomb is a Vietnam's Mecca, where the Vietnamese meet to pay 'Uncle Ho' their respects. Despite some critics of communism, Ho is commemorated by several Vietnamese both in Vietnam and other states around the globe, including the Vietnam Americans. Ho achieves this honor due to his several successful conquers on Vietnam's enemies despite the failure of previous movements by his predecessors. To conquer their fouls, Ho ideally knew the political theory applied in the European countries, and later on, he learned that the Marxism-Leninism government strategy could be successively employed in Vietnam. However, achieving revolution is tedious and hard, moreover convincing people to espouse an utterly unfamiliar government structure ("Ho Chi Minh"). Despite Ho's strong confidence in communism, he used several strategies to gain popularity and support from Vietnam. These strategies included compromise, propaganda, and fragments of different political ideologies. Additionally, Ho took Lenin's Idea of two-step revolution that starts with national independence and later societal revolution. After his death, the Vietnam community have had mixed feelings about Ho. Some view him as a villain who led to bloodshed in the country during the war; others view him as a hero, who through bloodshed, he gave the country victory. Despite these contracting facts, through Ho ideologies and strategies, Vietnam integrated communism and nationalism, and in addition, they got freedom, hence making him a superhero.

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With a lot of exploited people and the peasants in the Vietnam community, Ho traveled back from Asia and Europe to China, Hong Kong, to deliver them from the exploit. His return to the country was stirred up by his citizens who were being exploited in their own country. He aimed at uniting diverse communist associations, Vietnam and China supporters since at that particular time they were several factions with somewhat comparable motives, beliefs, and even names. In a bid to make this union, Ho formed a new party in 1930 and named it the Vietnamese Communist Party. During this party formation, the Comintern raised wrangles on the party's name in a bid that the communist revolution comprised of several intellectuals and not just the Vietnamese. For this reason, the party name changed from Vietnamese to Indochinese, aiming at bringing back international concerns rather than the struggle for independence in Vietnam. During the party foundation, Ho made popular through publications the main aims and goals of the party. Additionally, this publication entailed the strategies he hoped to apply in achieving revolution. Regardless of the party name change from Vietnam to Indochinese, Ho out rightly named France and Vietnam only in the appeal publication. From a critical point of view, this move showed that Ho had the real interest Vietnamese at heart. Additionally, his bid to encompass all the segregated teams of the Vietnamese into one peace group for communism expresses that he is a Vietnamese hero. In the appeal, Ho compromised the Marxist values; this further signified his intention to free Vietnam from the French colony. Furthermore, he called for the confiscation of the property and plantains that belonged to the Vietnamese capitalist and land distribution to the poor peasants. Ho's statement on land confiscation did not only drift from the Stalinist line and Marx's ideas but also commented on the imperialist land distribution. The imperialist in this instance were the French. He focused on the redistribution of France's land rather than the wealthy peasants and the bourgeois because radically, the French would oppose the Vietnamese Revolution (Fraser 11).

Ho's name and image were used and is still being used as a unifying factor among most Vietnamese and American Vietnamese. As stated by (Saxonberg 96), a sociology professor at Masaryk University, unlike Mao, the former Chinese chairman, Ho did not come up with any 'personality cult' but rather he used his popularity to fight for what is right for his people. Theoretically, his simplicity and mode of operation that Ho used, made him more human, and this made most Vietnamese accept him as their leader and a family than a politician. His way of dressing, garments and peasantry sandals, added him credibility in Vietnam, despite him being a laughing stock in the Western countries (Halberstman 2). Since the Vietnamese were used to power abuse, oppression from the emperors and French colonist, they accepted Ho as their leader since he at all dimensions integrated with their cultures. For Ho to be accepted in this kind of oppressed community, he had to adopt this style of leadership, abandon all revolutionist principles and fight for equality, freedom, and unity. Additionally, Ho used a slang name 'Uncle Ho' to refer to himself, and with time all Vietnamese embraced it. After the August Revolution, Ho made writing to Vietnamese children and referred to them as 'dear nephews and nieces,' this further strengthened the relationship between him and the Vietnamese community. This message resonated the youth, children and their parents since Ho described how valuable they were to him. With these messages, Ho mainly mentioned freedom for all Vietnamese around the globe, either in Vietnam, America, China or anywhere. Until today, Hon Cha Minh is used as a unifying factor in all Vietnamese communities, including the Vietnamese American community. This can be proved for instance by songs sung by the Vietnamese community especially on international games praising the victors in conjunction with Ho Chi Minh, their pioneer in victory. Additionally, the Vietnamese community around the world visit Vietnam Mecca, where Ho's tombstone is placed to pay their last respects, to their hero.

''I don't understand a thing about strategy'' Ho told the delegates in a French congress in 1920, '' but I understand well one single thing; ...delegates promise to help oppressed colonial peoples to regain their liberty and independence'' (Whitman 8). Ho said these worlds during his first recorded speech at the French Congress. From this message, Ho can simply be branded as a person who cared for the welfare others, especially the poor and the oppressed. However much he was superior and famous, at all meetings, at least most of them, Ho's speeches were most recorded down when in the bid to help the poor in the community. Additionally, he was from a humble background, felt the pain of the poor and the oppressed people in the society and most often he fought for their rights.

Irrespective of Ho's ideologies and hard efforts, Vietnam's wars came to an end in the year 1975, with a lot of bloodshed and war refugees seeking shelter in other countries. However, the Vietnamese and the American Vietnamese still recognize and respect Ho's devotion to their welfare. Ho acted as a flare of home, in fact, his name Ho Chi Minh meant 'bringer of light' (Fraser 5). However, several of his critics argue that his strong yearning for communism led to assumption of some of the Vietnamese needs, close examination from American Vietnamese and Vietnamese agree that immediate progress could not be achieved, hence slow progress until the year 1975. When it was essential, Ho acknowledged patience, values modification, and compromise. In regards to politics, Ho can be termed as partial Marist-Leninist, Confucian, and partly a humanist. However, the most critical part, Ho was a realist and a pragmatist. While Ho's radical views commemorated those of Lenin and Stalin, he was most dedicated to setting the Vietnamese from colonial bondage and relieving all Vietnamese from poverty. This can be realized from the series of events where he used to encourage the formation of large association groups despite the existence of other parties like Viet Minh and the Indochinese Communist Party. Ho encouraged the formation of these groups, not to endorse communism or exercise political powers, but to lead all Vietnamese, irrespective of their location, from bondage and suffering. Following his death in 1969, his predecessor and wall ally, Le Duan, pushed for immediate change rather than a gradual change. Duan's act for an immediate change showed that he still believed in Ho's ideas; however, applied different ways to achieve these ideas. Due to this rash, the Vietnam that Ho visualized does not exist, but rather the people are becoming increasingly capitalists. Despite this transition, Ho's legacy is still present in all American Vietnamese and Vietnamese around the globe. In several Vietnamese and American Vietnamese homes, store, garden, Ho's illusion can be seen (Fraser 8). This is because he freed them from colonialism, and restored dignity in them. Besides the Vietnamese and American Vietnamese, Ho's success during the revolution is honored worldwide due to his humility, compromises when needed, honor and uphold cultural beliefs, values, and traditions. With all the recognition from both Vietnamese, American Vietnamese, and globally, Ho Chi Minh should be recognized as a superhero by the American Vietnamese.

Works Cited

"Ho Chi Minh". HISTORY, 2019, https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/ho-chi-minh-1.Fraser, Madeline. "An Assessment of Ho Chi Minh's Strategies for Gaining Support in the Vietnamese Revolution." (2014).

Halberstam, David. The making of a quagmire: America and Vietnam during the Kennedy era. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007.

Saxonberg, Steven. Transitions and non-transitions from communism: Regime survival in China, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam. Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Whitman, Alden. "Ho Chi Minh Was Noted For Success In Blending Nationalism And Communism". Movies2.Nytimes.Com, 1969, http://movies2.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0519.html.