In Thailand the current King is on every banknote, in India it’s Ghandi, in Vietnam it’s Hồ Chí Minh and in the USA each bill is a different dead president. I point this out, because it highlights a really interesting point. In the states, there is this culture of independence and individuality that encourages people to be different and have egos. In most of Asia, the opposite is true. It’s important to fit in with the masses, and if someone is going to be elevated then it will be for one person in an almost god-like manner. In Thailand, the King’s image is protected be lèse majesté laws, and I am guessing that similar laws protect Ho Chi Minh’s image in Vietnam.

In the states, especially in present-day history classes we are generally taught about the faults of our country’s great men along with their accomplishments. Thomas Jefferson was the principle author of the Declaration of Independence but at the same time owned a huge number of slaves, Christopher Columbus was the first European explorer to find the Americas but then he massacred and enslaved most of the Native Americans that he found. In having the opportunity to study people for their accomplishments and their faults, I find that it allows us the opportunity to see the human side of each of them. When we see that they aren’t gods, that they make mistakes or that they make sacrifices, it allows for insight into their decision making process. If, instead, the person is above analysis and the histories are controlled by the government the person starts to seem less real to me.

Ok, so this is a bit of a long-winded explanation of the picture above. Hồ Chí Minh died in 1969 and was eventually installed in the above shrine for viewing. We queued up outside and were told how to behave: hats and sunglasses off, hands out of our pockets, don’t hold hands, don’t talk, stay in line, etc … inside the cool inner chamber, Uncle Hồ’s body lies in state for ten months out of the year (the other two he spends being restored in Russia). Jimmy picked up one of the official histories, which was really interesting to read. Each sentence seemed crafted to raise him to this super-human status, which in many ways seems rather ironic for a Communist.