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| US President Barack Obama and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan visit the Uncle Ho's stilt house relic site during their visit to Vietnam, May 23, 2016. |
In the National Mall of Washington, DC, there are four people who have statues erected in their honor. One of those four is Thomas Jefferson. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as President at the age of 57. At the age of 46, he was Secretary of State under the first President of the United States - George Washington.
At the same time, he proposed the founding of the Democratic Party. What is special is that when he was 33 years old, he was assigned the important responsibility of editor in the Committee to draft the Declaration of Independence of the United States - an immortal work of the United States. The Committee consisted of 5 members operating from June 11, 1776 to July 5, 1776. That is, he wrote a world- famous work in less than 1 month, and since then his name has been associated with this Declaration of Independence of the United States.
I got to read the Declaration of Independence and see his memorial in Washington, DC. And this time Tom and I visited Thomas Jefferson's home on his birthday (Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743).
It is my good fortune, coming from a faraway land, that an ordinary person like me, for the first time visited the house of a great man. Not only was he an outstanding politician and cultural figure, he was also a lawyer and philosopher. He was also an agriculturist, the inventor of plows and harvesters for American farmers. He was an architect, designing many offices and mansions; in which he spent the last 15 years of his life designing and renovating many mansions for several cities in the United States.
| On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the official establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (July 12, 1995 - July 12, 2025) and my visit to Montecello, I wrote a few lines in memory of two people, two outstanding world cultural figures, President Thomas Jefferson and President Ho Chi Minh, when lotus flowers were blooming in the pond of Kim Lien village and schools of red snapper were swimming happily in Uncle Ho's fish pond in the garden in Ba Dinh - Hanoi. |
He designed and built his house into the Montecello Residences. This is the only private residence in the world to be recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage in 1987. The Montecello Residence has a curved dome just like the Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC. Standing in front of his house, Tom asked me what I thought of the architecture of the house he designed himself. Tom said Thomas Jefferson was a multi-talented person. He was the first president to be elected by both parties. He was the first president to be sworn in in Washington, DC and to work in the White House.
In his inaugural address, President Thomas Jefferson declared: "Any difference of opinion is not a difference of principle." Reading this sentence, I remembered what Uncle Ho said about democracy. I once walked around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC and watched the cherry blossoms bloom every spring. I stood in front of his memorial, reflecting its silent, majestic image like an ancient white castle - the typical color of the central architectural complex in Washington Square, DC. His memorial was built by the people's contributions. And I suddenly thought that perhaps only when people respect and build a memorial will that intangible cultural symbol be sustainable and last forever with time and history.
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| Montecello - the private home of US President Thomas Jefferson. (Source: wikipedia) |
Visiting Montecello - Thomas Jefferson's private residence - I was reminded of our beloved Uncle Ho with the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Two hearts and two minds of two great men. Two people born in different places, times, cultures, skin colors and histories... But there is an interesting coincidence: Thomas Jefferson died on the American Independence Day, July 4, while Uncle Ho died on the Vietnamese National Day, September 2.
And those two people also had the same ideal of fighting throughout their lives for the noble purpose of building a democratic society, the only wish of these two great men was nothing other than the purpose that every human being enjoys freedom, prosperity and happiness. Those words, that voice and that declaration were not only for the United States or Vietnam, but were the common voice for humanity - that is the voice of the right to Independence - Freedom of each nation, human rights and democracy of each person. And perhaps these two great men were the soft cultural thread connecting the two countries of Vietnam and the United States, half a world apart, to open up a bright future of cooperation.
In fact, in recent years, the relationship between the two countries has developed very well in many aspects. The two countries have become strategic and comprehensive partners. Especially in the current trade and tariff negotiations, President Donald Trump and General Secretary To Lam have together brought the two countries into a new era of equal cooperation and mutual benefit. And at least every ordinary person has a warm friendship like me and Tom to share about the culture and history of Vietnam and the United States in the days leading up to the 30th anniversary of the normalization of relations between the two countries.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the official establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (July 12, 1995 - July 12, 2025) and my visit to Montecello, I wrote a few lines in memory of two people, two outstanding world cultural figures, President Thomas Jefferson and President Ho Chi Minh, when lotus flowers were blooming in the pond of Kim Lien village and schools of red snapper were swimming happily in Uncle Ho's fish pond in the garden in Ba Dinh - Hanoi.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/su-lien-ket-dac-biet-cua-quan-he-viet-my-320657.html
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