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When I was still in school, I heard my History teacher tell the story of the hero Cu Chinh Lan, a brave and intelligent soldier, who was born and raised in Quynh Luu, Nghe An. The story goes that, in a battle at Giang Mo (Hoa Binh), on December 13, 1951, a French tank suddenly came to reinforce, firing fiercely at the formation, blocking the retreat and causing many casualties to Viet Minh soldiers.

In the midst of the fierce battle, Cu Chinh Lan's gun unfortunately jammed. He immediately called his teammates to gather ammunition for him, then quickly jumped onto the vehicle, pulled the cap open, waited for the cigarette smoke to come out for a few seconds, then threw it into the cockpit, the grenade exploded, killing all the tankers in the vehicle. What was admirable was that before climbing onto the enemy tank, Cu Chinh Lan turned back to his teammates and said, "Even if I die, I'll do it!"

How resolute and resolute! Those were the words of a man who dared to dedicate his youth and life to the sacred Fatherland, his words engraved in history. The words of a soldier from Nghe An full of Nghe An spirit! Honestly, at that time we were too young to fully appreciate the humanistic value, the “courageous to the point of negligence, determined to the point of dryness” character of a Nghe An soldier. However, even so, for us, the word “do” after that story began to be deeply engraved in our subconscious, like a short command before each important decision. “Do” or not “do”!

“Mạn” is a dialect, if “converted” into common language, its equivalent meaning is “làm”. However, “mạn” does not only mean “doing” but it is much more, much broader than that. “Mạn” is synonymous with the word “làm” but it is forged, tempered, and grown from bamboo hedges and rice fields, from the dry Lao wind and midday sun. The word “mạn” has the salty taste of sweat, the callousness of working hands. In life, there are things, there are situations where the word “mạn” must be used to breathe life into the speaker, to fully express the quality of the person doing the work. Simply put, the word “mạn” must be used to be strong enough, powerful enough, and only then will it be satisfying!

The word “man” is associated with the Nghe people, but more than that, the word “man” also contains the Nghe people’s character. Some provinces in the Central region also use the word “man”, but it seems that the word “man” in Nghe An has more weight, firmness, and grit. When the Nghe people say “man”, it is a commitment containing both honor and determination.

“Choa đã nói là mận”, “Choa đã mận là ra mận”. For Nghe people, the word “mận” has many meanings. Sometimes eating and drinking is also called “mận”. Before going to the field, people take the time to “mận” a few potatoes, after eating the potatoes, they “mận” a few pots of bitter tea, after drinking water, they “mận” another pipe of tobacco… Just like that, the word “mận” accompanies the simple, gentle and rustic daily life. I have a neighbor, when she heard her beloved son present his plan to bring his girlfriend home to meet his parents, the mother frankly asked him, “Have you two done anything yet?”. Oh, “mận” also has the meaning of fertility!

Then the word “man” slowly entered the 4.0 world, not lost but no longer simple, not wild but also less gentle. In the past few years, the word “man” has been somewhat popularized, it is no longer a special privilege of the Central region. Here and there, a few “Bac Ha” brothers and sisters have begun to appear, occasionally borrowing the word “man” of the Central region to intimidate debtors. And the word “man” today seems to have changed, it no longer seems to have the same ancient semantics.

Less than a week ago, a young man born in 2003 drove his girlfriend through a red light. When a passerby reminded him, he immediately took out a knife and chased her, coldly… doing it. Poor guy, a life was lost after a knife strike and the word “do it” was so neat, leaving behind a young wife, young children, and an old mother crying in grief.

Also a few days ago, on the Internet, images of police arresting dozens of young men and women who were high on drugs in a hotel were circulating. Working-age people were lying around. Oh my god, if tons of drugs keep coming out like this, if people keep calling each other to “do it” collectively like this, where will the future of this country go? Disaster.

The other day, the police just busted a big drug case on PCK street in Vinh city, the press was told to limit coverage so that they could continue to expand the case. Yes, we feel that the drug war is at its most fierce and difficult stage. The future of the country and the nation is on extremely serious red alert. A strong campaign to eradicate drugs is urgently needed. I wish there was someone like Cu Chinh Lan to say at this moment, “I’d rather die than do it”!

From the big drug scandals in Saigon, Hanoi, Hai Phong, now to Vinh with a terrible scale. Each case is bigger than the previous one. Drugs are no longer small but hundreds of tons! In bars, restaurants, and hotels, a series of cases of drug use and debauchery have been exposed, 100% of them are young people. There are even female teachers, government officials, even bank directors. Why is this happening?

Before sitting down to write these lines, just yesterday, a boy told me honestly that “Nowadays, if you have fun, you have to have that, if you don’t have that it’s so boring, but if you have that, you have to… do it”! I was stunned when it was described that: Instead of shouting “One two three, let’s go” at drinking places, now at drug parties disguised as festivals, birthdays, and class reunions, they also shout: “One two three… do it!”. Oh my. After the word “do” they throw their lives towards an unhealthy and uncertain future.

Let's talk about the word "do" in life. There are many types of people in society. The first type is those who can talk and do. Usually, these are positive factors that contribute a lot to the community. The second type only does things, but doesn't talk much. The third type talks but doesn't do things, this type is very dangerous.

However, the most fearful are those who say one thing and do another. Yes, this type is everywhere. There are those who are principals and speakers for seminars on child abuse, but they themselves have abused dozens of their students. There are those who are vice-presidents of this or that institute, and before becoming a “good person”, they were also the head of the committee for the advancement of women. In the past, the forum must have been very good at “coddling” women. But when they got into the elevator, he forced a 9-year-old girl to do something dirty. This type is truly “talking like a god, acting like a ghost”. What’s worse is that they dare to do it but don’t dare to admit it.

It was similar to the case of the secretary who was wrongly accused. Obviously, he was always worried about the people's food and clothing, and was so negligent that his child's university entrance exam score was "fabricated" without him knowing. When the incident was exposed, he lamented that he was very sad because his child's score was intentionally raised to the level of a valedictorian. He felt sorry for him and his daughter, who had spent so many years cultivating morality and could do anything, but she didn't know how to do it... sir!

The story of the proposal to charge fees to patients’ relatives is the same. People are always jumping up and down. They are not patient enough to listen to explanations that are academic in theory and also very correct and clear in financial science. People are reacting strongly in this case, but the Ministry of Love is terribly silent. It is expected that the Ministry of Love will still direct the collection. People can do whatever they want, to get money, the Ministry only needs to do it… blindly! Not to mention that nowadays, sometimes to get money, people “work even if they die”.