Newsgroups: soc.culture.vietnamese
Subject: Re: Normalization w/ Hanoi
From: <PDLBH@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Date: Tuesday, 29 Sep 1992 09:06:04 EDT
Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center

In article <1992Sep29.082748.23088@cc.uow.edu.au>, mai@cc.uow.edu.au (Van Dao
Mai) writes:
>
>I smell this American fascist as a very typical little North American
>who understands everything but what beyond his nose. With all the
>illnesses of the so-called Western democracies, North American will
>be soon sold out on their American dream.
>

When the Soviet Union still exists as an entity, many of its hard-line
leaders tend to regard the US as a magnet for all illnesses and the
American government had been portrayed by the Communist satellites
as pro-fascist or pseudo-democracy. You should be careful about taking
a line that might be misconstrued as that of a left-wing person.


>A country like Vietnam cannot afford a democracy of the Western style.
>Looking what Western companies have done to Thailand, the Philippines,
>etc ... The human condition of an average American or Australian or
>French is simply pathetic. This is condition is infinitely better than
                            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>what many Westerners plan for third world countries. I have seen
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>young Australian kids becoming empty-headed. They knows only how
>to look for Coca Cola, food and sex. As I beleive that Australia is
>still a much better country for kids to grow up in, I have little
>doubt that other countries like the US, France, Italy, etc ... are
>much worse.
>

The above paragraphs convinced me that you do not think Western
democracy can bring many benefits to society despite its shortcomings.
Have you ever lived under a Communist system throughout your life?
Because, if you did, I would have no doubt that in your mind you
would rather enjoy the tangible or intangible comforts that come along
with Western democracy. Assuming that you are an average person living
under Communist regimes, your ability to be upward mobile and your
children's desire to get good job or to be admitted to their university,
all of which depends on one thing: your affiliation with the Party.

>Plato has pointed out clearly that democracy has many illnesses. The
>major illness is that it is characterised by the wish of the mobs who
>do not necessarily know what good for them. Therefore democracy tend
>to suffer disunity, selfishness, and waste of resources. Third world
>country cannot afford a democracy of Western style. They need to lift
>their intellectual ability higher to equal or better than that of the
>most advanced Western society before a democracy becomes practical.

Again, this kind of argument is also taken by Karl Marx and Lenin when
they want to promote their Communist cause. Lenin in particular claimed
that dictatorship of the proletariat is the best way to assure a transition
from a socialist state to the final stage of Communist society.

>Japan did not advance because of Democracy! she advanced because of
>nationalism, humility and hatred for the Western arrogance. Germany
>did not advance by democracy. She advances by the will to suceed and
>the strength of the German hearts and minds.

Right and wrong! Japan and Germany succeed because of their national
strenghs, not because of what you trumped up "hatred for the Western
arrogance". After WW II, both of these countries received lots of
aids from the US, and if you still don't believe my argument, look at
the former East Germany and compare their economic-political system
to that of West Germany. Do you need history to repeat itself?


>Vietname may suffer humility now. However, she will rise! She will
>learn the best of the skill that Western cultures can offer. She will
>maintain her poetic culture. She cannot afford the rotten kind of
>democracy of the West. She may have her own form of democracy that
>will goes beyond the taste for flesh and bones of the Western facists.

Forgive me for saying this, but a "democracy" that forbids freedom of
assembly, freedom of the press, and tolerates the use of police
force to suppress human rights like the current regime in Hanoi,
will never have the support of the Vnese people. Let the people
decide what forms of system is best for them. Give freedom and real
democracy a chance in Vietnam!!!

>She will not be the play ground of the West similar to what Thailand,
>Philippines, South America, etc ... have always been. The regime
>in Vietnam may not be the most desirable on Earth now. However they
>have the interest of the motherland at heart. The old generations
>are dying out rapidly. The younger generation will be better. Let's
>hope that they will not learn all the illnesses of Western cultures
>(the North American culture in particular).
>

What I dislike most from this and similar article is the promotion of
Communist or left-wing interests being shrouded by nationalism in
a desperate attempt to recruit followers.


>Van Dao MAI
>Wollongong University
>

All flames or comments should be forwarded to my email address.

Le DDuc