The ultimate desire for a virtuous Vietnamese man

A person can have more or less desires, and often "the ultimate desire determines their motivation, purpose, behavior, and generally the value of their career. The case of President Ho Chi Minh is a convincing example. Therefore, it is difficult to understand if each of us studies Uncle Ho's morality day and night, but deep in our hearts, we only nurture small, petty, selfish desires?!

In the Spring of 1946, our country's history witnessed a great and touching event: On January 6, 1946, the first General Election was held nationwide. Every citizen, from 18 years old and up, regardless of rich or poor, class, male or female, religion, had the right to vote and run for election... In fact, one day before the General Election, President Ho Chi Minh issued a "Call to the people of the whole country", in which he said: "Tomorrow is the first day in the history of Vietnam and our people begin to enjoy their democratic rights... A vote has the same power as a bullet!". In fact, 90% of the total number of voters went to vote; the citizen named Ho Chi Minh ran for election in Hanoi City and was elected with the highest number of votes of 98.4%!

Assessing the stature and effectiveness of the General Election to elect the National Assembly and the Coalition Government of the Spring Resistance in 1946, Mr. Vu Dinh Hoe said: "Thanks to the talented leadership of President Ho Chi Minh, sometimes hard, sometimes soft, together with the patient and courageous struggle of the Viet Minh Central Committee and the vast masses, the General Election on January 6, 1946 was a brilliant success! Thus, faced with two sudden great mountains: the National Assembly united the entire people in a resolute resistance, and the Government closely united patriotic parties both at home and abroad, resolutely commanding the resistance, even the most stubborn colonialists had to back down - including those who supported them, directly or indirectly." (1) Remember, this is the analysis and assessment of an important and "insider" figure at that time...

After the events of January 6, 1946, a number of foreign journalists wished to ask President Ho Chi Minh about his personal and public thoughts and aspirations. In the National Salvation Newspaper, No. 147, published on January 21, 1946, Uncle Ho published the article "Response to Foreign Journalists". This was also an opportunity for Uncle Ho to widely announce to his compatriots at home and overseas dignitaries his thoughts and aspirations. In the first part, talking about "fame and wealth", about his "ultimate desire", Uncle Ho wrote like a true Eastern philosopher: "I absolutely do not desire fame and wealth at all. Now I have to take on the position of President because my compatriots have entrusted me, so I must try my best, just like a soldier obeying the nation's orders to go to the front. Whenever my compatriots let me retire, I will gladly retire. I have only one desire, an ultimate desire, which is to make our country completely independent, our people completely free, everyone has food to eat, clothes to wear, everyone can study. As for me, I will build a small house, where there are green mountains and blue water to fish, grow flowers, and be friends with the old people gathering firewood and the young children herding buffalo all day and night, without any involvement with fame and profit..." (2).

In fact, Uncle Ho's "ultimate desire", when answering foreign journalists in 1946, was mentioned many times by him, and perhaps most concisely, expanded, and hauntingly in the last part of his Testament: "My final wish is that our entire Party and people unite to strive to build a peaceful, unified, independent, democratic, and prosperous Vietnam, and make a worthy contribution to the world revolutionary cause."

(1) Ho Chi Minh's Rule of Law and Humanity. Vu Dinh Hoe. Publishing House of Culture - Information and East-West Language and Culture Center, Hanoi, 2001, p. 86.

(2) Ho Chi Minh Complete Works, volume 4 (1945 - 1946). National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2002, p. 161.

Kim Nhat