Kaye Chipman
DeVry University
HIST415 Vietnamese History
Professor Grimm
Summer Session A 2013
May 19, 2013
Leadership Styles “Ho Chi Minh 's Communist ideology was flexible enough to serve his purposes. In any case, he was never the doctrinaire, and always much more a political activist whose strong will was directed at the goal of the independence and unification of Vietnam.” (Kirkpatrick, 2006) Lecture and readings have taught us that Ho Chi Minh was charismatic and hard to hate, even though he was responsible for the death of thousands of his own men. He portrayed himself as simple and passionate. He wanted independence but sold out Vietnam when he didn’t get his way. He then became known as the “fascist with the human face”. He wanted to have a unified state, and whether it was communist or not, wanted economic self-sufficiency. “His determination, rather than genius, was his hallmark as a leader.” (Kirkpatrick, 2006) “Ngo Dinh Diem was also a patriotic figure but without the deep background of Ho Chi Minh.” (DeVry, 2013) He was of strong Christian faith, practiced Catholicism. He was a nationalist and was anti-communism. He tried to please the people and preach what he believed in (Catholicism versus Buddhism) and this is what ultimately caused his assassination. Something significant about Diem was that he did not strive for economic self-sufficiency, which did not go over well with the Vietnamese. The majority of his country was against him and because he was so ineffective as a leader, the US broke ties with him. They too realized that he didn’t even know his people, let alone care to support them. Comparing the two leadership styles, they are in stark contrast to one another. Ho Chi Minh was focused and had vision for what he wanted for North Korea, while Ngo Dinh Diem lacked focus and vision for South Korea. Minh wanted a united nation, while Diem only divided the people more and more by supporting only those who believed in what he believed in. While Minh was a communist ruler, he genuinely cared about his country and its people. Diem, who was anti-communism could have cared less about his people and only seemed to care about his power and/or beliefs.
The question is almost who was the lesser of the two evils? The Vietnamese believe that Ho Chi Minh, while communist, had the nation’s best interest in mind, and was truly serving the people. Ngo Dinh Diem ended up being assassinated because he was so anti his people and their beliefs. He was anti-Buddhist, which the majority of his people were. Given the choice, it’s hard to choose which to support. It’s like politics in the United States. They both had some outstanding points, but both also had negative points. One would have to determine which one they supported more; the lesser of the two evils!
References
DeVry (2013) “Suppressed Nationalism Driving Nation Building”, in Week 2 Lecture, HIST415 (Vietnamese History), Summer A session 2013. Naperville, IL: DeVry University Online
Kirkpatrick, C. (2006, July 25). Ho chi minh: North vietnam leader. Vietnam Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.historynet.com/ho-chi-minh-north-vietnam-leader.htm
References: DeVry (2013) “Suppressed Nationalism Driving Nation Building”, in Week 2 Lecture, HIST415 (Vietnamese History), Summer A session 2013. Naperville, IL: DeVry University Online Kirkpatrick, C. (2006, July 25). Ho chi minh: North vietnam leader. Vietnam Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.historynet.com/ho-chi-minh-north-vietnam-leader.htm
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