Shining the spirit of patriotism in the fight against 'Covid-19'

1.EvaluatePatriotismof the Vietnamese people, in the Political Report at the Second National Congress of the Party on February 11, 1951, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: “Our people have a passionate love for the country. That is a precious tradition of ours. From the past until now, every time the Fatherland is invaded, that spirit boils up, it forms an extremely strong, huge wave, it overcomes all dangers and difficulties, it drowns all traitors and invaders.”^[1].

In fact, every time the enemy invades, "the king and his subjects are of one mind, brothers are in harmony, the whole country joins forces" to maintain the country and protect the country; "the people are soldiers", "the great righteousness overcomes cruelty, the benevolence replaces violence", "the few fight the many", "the small overcomes the big", "the weak become strong", combining force, situation, time and strategy to "extinguish war", "bring eternal peace".^[2].

The spirit of patriotism of Vietnam has become a precious tradition, creating a source of culture, an endogenous driving force that helps the Vietnamese people not to be assimilated by foreign enslavement; overcoming all hardships and challenges, that is: more than a thousand years of Chinese domination and fighting against Chinese domination, nearly a thousand years of having to constantly fight against the invasion of Northern feudalism, nearly 117 years of fighting against the domination of colonial empires (France, Japan, America) and their traitorous lackeys.

Dien Bien Phu victory on May 7, 1954. Photo archive

Under the light of the Party's guidelines andHo Chi Minh thought, the spirit of patriotism shines brighter, gathering the strength of great national unity, creating exciting emulation movements, helping the whole people overcome difficulties and rise up for development.

In fact, our nation overcame the "life-threatening" situation right after the August Revolution in 1945; achieved the Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954 that "resounded throughout the continents and shook the world", ending the 9-year resistance war against French colonialism (1945-1954) and the Great Spring Victory of 1975, liberating the South and unifying the country; overcame the period of national difficulties and socio-economic crisis (1975-1985) in the context of the socialist system falling into crisis, the Pol Pot genocidal group attacked 6 southern border provinces; Chinese forces attacked 6 northern border provinces, and the US imperialists imposed an embargo; achieved 35 years of national renovation (1986-2021) and will now defeat the "covid-19 enemy".

2.Although the world is volatile and unstable, Vietnam's growth rate in the period 2016-2019 averaged 6.8%/year; currently among the world's leading countries in hardware, electronics, telecommunications industrial production, ranked 2nd in the world in phone and component production, ranked 10th in electronics and component production, surpassing many powerful countries such as the United States, Germany, India, Brazil, Singapore.^[3].

Political stability, rapid economic growth, increasingly good social security, and people's trust in the Party, State and regime have become more solid, making "Our country has never had such a foundation, potential, position and international prestige as it does today."^[4].

Illustration: Source: VTV

Vietnam was peaceful, suddenly the "Covid-19 enemy" invaded from the beginning of 2020 until now, breaking out for the 4th time. After sweeping through Bac Giang province, the Covid-19 enemy devastated Ho Chi Minh City and many southern provinces and cities and threatened many places in the country.

Once again, the spirit of Vietnamese patriotism shines through every action of cadres, party members and every citizen. Every Vietnamese person stands up to fight the "Covid-19 enemy". The whole country believes that despite facing many hardships and sacrifices, with the leadership of the Party and State and the consensus of the people, the "war against Covid-19" will be victorious!

The entire political system and authorities are involved, especially the medical staff, army and police, who work day and night to fight against Covid-19 and protect the peaceful life of the people.

Except for a very few people who, due to their lack of awareness, still commit uncivilized acts that negatively affect the work of preventing and fighting Covid-19, the vast majority of more than 98 million Vietnamese people, including overseas Vietnamese, turn to the Fatherland with a strong spirit of patriotism.

Patriotism in the time of Covid-19 does not require taking up arms and going to the border to fight the enemy, but starts fromresponsibility for personal health and community; strictly comply with regulations, actively propagate Covid-19 prevention and control; unite and join forces with the entire Party, people and army, creating a position of people's hearts to defeat the pandemic...

The spirit of sharing material things, giving rice, sharing clothes, and helping those in need during the pandemic has become a widespread movement among the entire population. Not only Vietnamese people but also people around the world are grateful for the free "Rice ATM" for the poor; touched by the image of an old man over 80 years old, with a hunched back, carrying a bunch of green rice and some chicken eggs to support the quarantine area; thousands of people cooking and giving out free rice every day in the midst of the epidemic; activities to support people returning to their hometowns to escape Covid-19...

Just like that, the spirit of patriotism continues to spread, transforming into volunteer activities imbued with humanity, creating a "competitive movement to fight Covid-19" nationwide.

The entire Party, people and army unite to defeat the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Document

In the past, the Vietnamese people were proud to unite and defeat all foreign invaders and internal rebels; now they continue to affirm themselves in the international arena with the image of a country that is developing dynamically and unitedly preventing and fighting Covid-19 effectively.

That is the historical basis and practical basis to believe that Vietnam will soon defeat the "covid enemy" and always move forward in the fight against false and hostile arguments, firmly protect the Party's ideological foundation, protect the achievements of the revolution, and bring prosperity and happiness to the people.

[1]Ho Chi Minh (2011): Complete works, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, volume 7, p.38.

[2] On the resistance war against America to save the country, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2005, pp.11-12.

[3] Communist Party Electronic Newspaper, January 23, 2021.

[4] Central Propaganda Department (2021): Research documents of the 13th National Party Congress, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, p.53.