Uncle Ho's words still echo in the mountains and rivers

Every year, when the sky and earth turn to autumn, it is also the time when people across the country joyfully celebrate the anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2. Living in an independent country, a peaceful homeland, a unified country, and the people's lives becoming increasingly prosperous and happy, we are all excited, proud and extremely grateful to previous generations. Joining in the common joy of the whole nation, we are moved and think back to the sacred historical moment when President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945.

Uncle Ho reading the Declaration of Independence. Photo: Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts

Going back 79 years in history, under the leadership of the Party and Uncle Ho, the people of our country rose up in a general uprising to seize power. Within just 15 days at the end of August 1945, all over the country, the "earth-shattering" August Revolution was completely victorious, and our people gained power. On August 26, 1945, Uncle Ho returned from the Viet Bac resistance base to the inner city of Hanoi and began writing the great national founding document at house number 48 Hang Ngang Street. On September 2, 1945, at Ba Dinh Square - Hanoi, President Ho Chi Minh solemnly read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Since elementary school, I have loved and memorized the excerpt from the poem “ Following Uncle Ho” by To Huu: “Today is the morning of September 2nd/ The capital city is covered with yellow flowers and sunshine in Ba Dinh/ Millions of hearts are waiting for the birds to stop/ Suddenly a loving song resounds/ Ho Chi Minh! Ho Chi Minh!/ The person standing on the platform is silent for a moment/ Looking at his children, waving his two hands/ His forehead is high, his eyes are shining/ Independence is now seen!” . The whole space, time, and image of Uncle Ho appear so beautiful, warm, dear, but also sacred and touching. Growing up, I understood and deeply understood that, after more than 80 years of losing our country and our home, our people have suffered and still fought steadfastly. How many uprisings were filled with blood and tears, how many generations heroically sacrificed, how many years of waiting for independence, and then today (September 2, 1945) the whole nation burst into joy and pride: "Independence is here now!" When I became a Literature teacher, I can't remember how many times I studied this exemplary political essay of Uncle Ho with my students. However, every time the National Day of September 2 comes, when I listen to the radio or TV replaying documentary footage, or hear Uncle Ho read the Declaration of Independence directly, my heart is filled with joy and pride!

After the emotional sentence “Fellow countrymen!”, Uncle Ho quoted the immortal content of the American “Declaration of Independence” in 1776: “All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” If the Americans only stopped at individual human rights, Uncle Ho elevated them to national rights: “In a broader sense, this means: all peoples in the world are born equal, every people has the right to life, the right to happiness, and the right to freedom.” He also quoted the content of the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1791: “Men are born free and equal in rights, and must always remain free and equal in rights.” Citing the above two Declarations of the United States and France further demonstrates President Ho's sharp thinking, profound knowledge, very humane thoughts, and vision beyond his time. He both respected the progressive thoughts of humanity and used the enemy's own arguments to punish them, using "their own petard to hit their own back". In other words, it was the French colonialists who violated the good principles set by their ancestors!

On the solid legal basis of “Those are undeniable truths!”, Uncle Ho condemned and denounced the crimes of the French colonialists “taking advantage of the flag of freedom, equality, and fraternity to rob our country and oppress our people. Their actions are completely contrary to humanity and justice”. He rejected the false arguments of France that they had “civilized” and “protected” Vietnam, exposing the cowardly nature and sinister plot of France to reoccupy our country when World War II ended. From the historical reality that our people heroically fought to “reclaim Vietnam from the Japanese, not from the French”, “the French fled, the Japanese surrendered, King Bao Dai abdicated”, Uncle Ho proudly declared: “A nation that has courageously fought against French slavery for more than 80 years, a nation that has courageously stood with the Allies against fascism for several years, that nation must be free! That nation must be independent!” .

In this solemn moment, there was a small situation, outside the text, but it showed Uncle Ho's great personality and great affection for his compatriots. That is, although he used the language of the people very clearly, Uncle Ho was worried about his heavy Nghe accent, so he stopped and asked: "Can you hear me clearly?". That's Uncle Ho, a great man, a noble leader, but so close, simple, and passionate! Recreating this image, poet To Huu emotionally wrote: "A million answers: "Yes" / Like Truong Son intoxicated by the wind of the East Sea / Yes, Uncle Ho said, we heard clearly / Each word of his carries the weight of mountains and rivers".

On behalf of the Provisional Government of the new Vietnam, Uncle Ho boldly declared: "to completely break away from colonial relations with France, abolish all treaties that France has signed on Vietnam, abolish all privileges of France on Vietnamese land". His words echoed the heroic spirit of the country: "Vietnam has the right to enjoy freedom and independence, and in fact has become a free and independent country. The entire Vietnamese people are determined to devote all their spirit and strength, lives and property to maintain that freedom and independence". Uncle Ho's sentences are an oath of independence, an oath to protect the sacred country, so they have the strength of brave armies, like echoing the sacred spirit of the mountains and rivers, like the crystallization of the determination to fight the enemy and protect the country of the heroes Ly Thuong Kiet, Tran Quoc Tuan, Le Loi, Quang Trung...

The country had just gained independence, the people had just gained freedom, the revolutionary government was still young, but the enemy was determined to continue invading our country. After 30 years of resistance against France and the US, in the most difficult times of the nation, we heard Uncle Ho's calls, encouragement, and thoughtful advice. From the call for national resistance in 1946 "No! We would rather sacrifice everything than lose our country, we would rather be slaves!", the advice in the talk with the Vanguard Army in 1954 "The Hung Kings have built the country, Uncle and I must work together to protect the country", the call to fight against the US to save the country in 1966 "Nothing is more precious than independence, independence and freedom!", to the New Year's greetings at the end of his life still encouraging our army and people "Forward! Soldiers, compatriots/ North and South reunite, what spring is happier than this".

Autumn is coming in the cool, golden sunshine. Everywhere is decorated with colorful flags and flowers, filled with joy to celebrate National Day - Independence Day September 2nd. At this time, we remember the sacred historical milestone when President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence on September 2nd, 1945. Although he has passed away, his words still echo in the mountains and rivers!

Source: http://baolamdong.vn/chinh-tri/202409/loi-bac-mai-con-vang-vong-nui-song-0a71c55/