Regarding Nguyen Huu Liem"s recent report on the conference

Regarding Nguyen Huu Liem's recent report about the grand conference of "Viet Kieu Yeu Nuoc" held in late November, 2009.

NHL's piece triggered some thoughts, as evidenced by the tally of 46 comments at the time his piece was brought to the attention of MC forum. Two of the comments were also posted in the forum. One was especially biting, likening NHL to no more than a sub-human animal trained by means of food inducement to parrot and ape the behavior of the trainer (VCP). It is common practice for humans to degrade and debase other humans whom they have no respect to the level of insects and beasts in order to express utter contempt. I have previously partaken in this practice. While the practice did give me momentary satisfaction, I didn't feel particularly good about myself afterwards as I realized that by calling and designating my fellow men by names of beasts and insects, I exhibited lack of originality and a loving heart, the very deficiencies I accused of those whom I despised.

So, henceforth and that means today, I have decided to forsake the practice and just focus on the demerits of their arguments. For easy reference, I am going to touch upon the points mentioned by NHL in the order presented by him.

1. Hegel's quote.I don't claim to know much about Hegel. Very few people could read him directly because of his turgid prose. What we know about him are usually indirect through others' comments and summaries. Hegel was known for his method of dialectics in reasoning and his sweeping view of history. Hegel had an impact on Marx. Hegel didn't pay attention to the role of individuals. To him, the state was everything. NHL apparently shared that view. But let us ponder on the merit of the quote. First, it is a question if there's indeed a God as we usually conceive Him, a being who takes an interest in human affairs. Second, to assert that "The State is the march of God on earth" requires a leap of faith that I and others to whom faculty of reasoning is something real and should be exercised, are not comfortable to do. To us, the metaphor is pure nonsense. It is akin to saying that those groups and tribes who have no states of their own are somehow disconnected with God. I didn't know God practiced discrimination. If he does, I don't want him. Third, the state is just an abstraction; it is a name for an agglomeration of individuals bound by some commonalities. In the end, individual persons in the flesh are the ones that count. Those who glorify the state are the ones that tend to embrace totalitarian tendencies for their own benefits, and not for the state (agglomeration of individuals) at all. Those people are usually Marxist in their thinking whose followers are found in the Poliburo of the VCP.

2. NHL badmouthed the very Army under which he once served in the second sentence of his report. He was lucky to get out of Vietnam by helicopter. Why did he still carry his pistol while riding the helicopter? If he despised the ARVN, why didn't stay behind and welcome the "Liberation" Army of the VC? The character of NHL was revealed in the remaining sentences of the first paragraph. He was a fearful creature, devoid of courage, and consumed with a desire to live with any costs and at any price. Now he was relieved and proud to come back to Vietnam, as a guest of the VCP. What a piece of garbage! See, true to my words, I didn't call him by any names of insects and beasts.

3. The third paragraph described his relief and joy of being treated with courtesy and consideration by the officials of the state. I don't know why he bothered to reveal this unnecessary detail other than betraying his deep-rooted fear and insecurity. Of course, the state would and should treat him with courtesy and consideration, as it was in the interest of those who control the state to do so. Perhaps he forgot that the conference was a showcase of propanganda. The poor man was so affected by the exterior that he could not discern what the exterior represented.

4. The next paragraphs found him waxing poetic about phemenonlogy and its founder, Husserl. I don't know much about Hegel. And I don't know much about Husserl. I only know that he had an impact on Sartre and Heidegger, the two existentialists. I must admit that I found NHL eloquent in his discouse in these paragraphs. I wonder if these are his words distilled from long nights of perusing the words of Husserl or he merely parroted the words of somebody else and rendered them in Vietnamese. But, wait a minute, I was hasty in giving NHL credit since it was clear he was explaining Husserl via the words of Derrida, the father of deconstruction.I wonder the purpose of NHL in invoking Husserl and then Ly Dong A and Truc Duc Thao ((whom I absolutely know nothing about) in his report. He also mentioned the role of history and the role of the VCP. I don't know much about history, but I know this much: China is our historical enemy. It is encroaching on the territories of Vietnam. The VCP is not fulfilling its role as the sole party in the land entrusted with the duties of governing and preserving our territorial integrity. The populace is restless. Some brave intellectuals voiced their displeasure at the VCP for its strange muted response in the face of increasing belligerence of China. For their demonstrations of patriotism, these patriots were thrown into jail. I would respect NHL a little bit if he had the courage to say something about this matter. But by the time I got this far in this self -serving and unctuous report, I didn't expect anything from him except to see how far he traveled in the path of depravity.

5. He didn't disappoint me because in the next paragraph he proudly told us that the bus in which he rode along with other "delegates" to the conference hall was led by a police car in full siren. The implication was that he was one of the VIPs who got preferential treatment in traffic. There was no doubt in my mind then NHL enjoyed pomp and pageantry and every little morsel and bone of glory the VCP threw at him.

6. The next two paragraphs were devoted to shameless kowtowing to the Hanoi regime with flowery language. By this time his language was tiresome and predictable. I lost interest in his "narrative", but I forced myself to continue reading, no longer driven by intellectual curiosity, but by a reluctance to quit in mid-stream.

7. So, I soldiered on, only to be rewarded by a fantastical story of a French-trained architect Truong in his late 60's who has been working for years in Vietnam training future generation of architects and involving in urban planning, without salary and without reimbursement for his expenses. I would love to meet Mr. Truong to verify the story since it is too fantastical, too amazing for me to grasp. I am glad Mr. Truong is an architect and not a fisherman otherwise we would be regaled with tall tales about fish.

8. My annoyance with NHL turned to full blown anger when he gushed praise on the VC flag and the national anthem while expressing indifference to the Star Spangled Banner, calling the anthem of the country which has sheltered him and given him employment for 34 years, foreign. What an ingrate! What a piece of human trash! Mind you, I am not a kneejerk USA lover. I regard myself first and foremost Vietnamese, but I love and appreciate good old USA which has given me a decent standard of living and which shows me the meaning of freedom and dignity. For those reasons, I stand up in full attention and I am overwhelmeded with emotions whenever the Star Spangled Banner is played.

9. NHL could not help himself. He loved dropping names of thinkers. At the end of his report which would not surprise me if it turned out that it was commissioned by Hanoi, he invoked Paul Ricoeur, a French philosopher, of whom I know nothing about, apart from the fact he is French. I am too dumb to understand the quote he attributed to Ricoeur. I was completely lost. I have a feeling that his VC handlers in Hanoi were also lost regarding the way this chicken man expressed himself.He mercifully concluded his long, rambling report by confessing that he was a fearful person and that he is not yet a free man. I wonder if he realized how true his departing words were.

P.S.
A person's words reveal his character. I am painfully aware of that fact. I wrote about NHL's report as part of my own journey of self-discovery. I know my own character needs a lot of work.

In the end, we all need to be true to ourselves. People are not as stupid as we think they are. Sooner or later, they can see through our fears, our insecurity, our inferiority complex, and our self-deception in spite of our cover-ups with names of thinkers, quotes in arcane languages, and displays of learning and scholarship.

Deep down, I understand why there are people like NHL. They answer to their biological desire to survive and cast aside abstract, impractical concerns like honor, dignity, fairness, and patriotism. They use their intelligence to overcome the call of higher values and congratulate themselves as being truly smart and clever. They laugh at patriots as being stupid and impractical.

What I don't understand is their lack of consistency. If they love Hanoi and worship Trung Cong (they dare not, would not even use the terms Trung Cong. To them, it has to be Trung Quoc this and Trung Quoc that. It is not a question of politeness. It's more a question of slavish mentality, a question of despicable mindset) then why don't they go back to Vietnam and openly declare their affiliation? It's far more honorable that way than hiding in the U.S., Australia, or wherever and being parasites in the host countries.

Wissai
Nov . 29, 2009