Why do cadres start out virtuous and talented, but gradually decline?

"A heart is worth three talents" - General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong quoted the poem Kieu by the great poet Nguyen Du to remind each party member at the meeting of exemplary young party members studying and following Uncle Ho's teachings on the occasion of 50 years of implementing Uncle Ho's Testament, which took place last week.

The leader of our Party affirmed that to promote the pioneering role, each Party member must have two important things: virtue and talent. Virtue goes hand in hand with talent, but virtue must be the root, virtue must come first. A person without talent cannot do anything, but talent without virtue will destroy the revolution.

This reminder is even more relevant when recently, many Party members and officials have degraded morally, deviated from the Party's goals and ideals, causing harm to the country and the people, to the point of having to be disciplined by the Party and criminally prosecuted.

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh advised that revolutionary cadres must first have revolutionary ethics, because "ethics is the root of revolutionaries". He affirmed: "Just like a river must have a source to have water, without a source the river will dry up. A tree must have roots, without roots the tree will wither. A revolutionary must have ethics, without ethics, no matter how talented, he cannot lead the people". In his sacred Testament, the first thing Uncle Ho advised was also about the Party, the Party must be a pioneer and exemplary model.

Unfortunately, in recent times, while the majority of Party members and cadres have absorbed and realized His teachings in carrying out their duties and responsibilities, there is a group that has degraded and lost themselves. Some people who have just gained positions and power "ride on the necks" of the people; some who have not done anything yet think of "sucking", even eating everything from the people. Some cadres say one thing but do another. Some cadres appear to be honest, when they go to work, in public they dress simply, instructing them to be frugal, but when they leave the office they spend lavishly, living in this mansion, that villa; their wives and children set up businesses to "do evil" in the fields and sectors they manage...

The consequence is that public assets are lost and embezzled; there are projects worth thousands of billions, tens of thousands of billions of dong that are left unfinished with outdated technology; abandoning them is not possible, and continuing to invest in them does not know when they will be completed; there are works and projects that are left abandoned, becoming piles of scrap metal, causing resentment among the people.

The painful consequences are clear. Many officials have put themselves in the "fire". Not only were they executedDisciplinary action but still entangled in legal trouble, illegal assets confiscated, family members humiliated, colleagues shunned, people despised.

The question is why are there party members and officials who initially have good heart, virtue, and talent, but gradually become degraded, corrupted, selfish, petty, and self-interested, neglecting public affairs, loosening management, embezzling public assets, and committing illegal acts? Is it because when they are assigned to a leadership position by a trusted organization, they misunderstand their position and power and disregard the sense of responsibility and dedication as the Party's motto and purpose: the higher the position, the heavier the task, the greater the personal sacrifice required?

It is also the consequence of a long period of Party discipline not being strictly enforced and power not being closely monitored, causing a number of cadres to act on their own.

Virtue and Talent require each cadre and leader to constantly reflect on and correct themselves so that virtue will become increasingly bright and talent will contribute to society and the country. On the contrary, being arrogant, haughty, and far from the revolutionary ideal will soon lead to degeneration, degradation, and harm to the organization, the people, and the country. That requiresStrengthening the inspection and supervision of the superior party organization over the subordinate organization, concretizing the people's supervision mechanism over each individual and unit.

General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong always affirms that “the drum must be beaten continuously” when talking about the current fight against corruption, bureaucracy, and degradation. Power must be controlled and monitored. Only then will each cadre and party member have the motivation to constantly cultivate themselves, their virtues will be cultivated, and their minds will be brighter.

When each cadre and party member is imbued with the teachings of President Ho Chi Minh, always taking morality as the most important thing and using talent to serve, our Party will truly be moral and civilized, the country will be developed and strong, and the people will be prosperous, rich and happy.

No one knows themselves better than themselves. Every leader, cadre, and party member always knows where they are, when they have been greedy, angry, or ignorant, how serious their mistakes are, so that they can correct and cleanse themselves; Every party member should always remember the moment they raised their fists and swore an oath before the Party flag: to be absolutely loyal to the Party's revolutionary ideals and purposes; to have a healthy lifestyle; to fight against individualism, opportunism, localism, bureaucracy, corruption, waste, and negative manifestations, to reflect on themselves, remind themselves, and warn themselves before the organization "touches them"./.