Vietnam should have taught us that nationalism, with its engines

“Vietnam should have taught us that nationalism, with its engines of independence and self-determination, is a more powerful force by far than Marxism and must be understood and respected.” — Pete Hamill

In these solemn and penetrating words, Pete Hamill, a journalist and witness to the storms of the twentieth century, speaks of a truth born not from books but from the fires of history. His reflection upon Vietnam is not merely about war, but about the heart of nations and the eternal yearning of people to be free. He tells us that nationalism, when fueled by the twin fires of independence and self-determination, is mightier than any ideology conceived by philosophers or imposed by conquerors. The human spirit, he reminds us, will always rise for the right to govern its own destiny — and no doctrine, whether Marxism, capitalism, or empire, can subdue that will for long. Hamill’s words are a call for wisdom: to understand that liberty is not granted by systems, but born from the soil of belonging.

The meaning of this quote lies in the clash between two visions of power — one that seeks to organize the world under ideas, and another that seeks to preserve the sacred autonomy of peoples. Hamill saw in the Vietnam War a lesson written in blood and fire: that ideological conquest cannot overcome the spirit of national identity. The United States, in its struggle against communism, had misunderstood the true nature of its opponent. It believed it was fighting a war of ideology — democracy against Marxism — but the Vietnamese were fighting a war of freedom against domination, of nationhood against occupation. Their enemy was not a doctrine, but any force that sought to rule them from afar. The lesson Hamill imparts is this: those who underestimate the power of a people’s love for their homeland will always be defeated, for nationalism, in its purest form, is the cry of a soul that refuses to be owned.

The origin of these words can be traced to the long, tragic shadow cast by the Vietnam War — a conflict that spanned decades and claimed millions of lives. Hamill, writing in its aftermath, sought not to condemn, but to interpret its meaning. The war began as part of the global struggle between capitalism and communism, yet it evolved into something far deeper and older: the struggle of a people to be free from foreign control. The Vietnamese had resisted China, France, Japan, and finally America — great empires all — and had outlasted them through endurance and conviction. In their leader Ho Chi Minh, Hamill saw less a Marxist than a patriot; less a theoretician than a man carrying the ancient dream of his nation’s independence. And when that dream burns in the heart of a people, no ideology can extinguish it.

Consider the story of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, where a small, poorly equipped Vietnamese force defeated the mighty French army. The world watched in disbelief as a colonial empire, with all its modern weapons and strategies, was humbled by peasants who fought with conviction rather than resources. It was not Marx’s theories that carried them to victory, but the will to reclaim their soil and dignity. The same spirit later resisted American firepower — the helicopters, the bombs, the napalm — and yet endured. The jungles became the armor of the people, and their faith became their weapon. Hamill saw in this a truth that few in his time wished to face: that ideas imposed from without crumble before the will that rises from within.

There is in Hamill’s reflection a profound warning for all ages. He teaches that power without understanding is folly. Nations that seek to impose their ideals upon others, however noble their intent, forget that the soil of another people already holds its own seeds of truth. The quest for independence is not an ideology; it is a universal instinct, as natural as the yearning for breath. Those who do not respect it, who see the world only through the lens of conquest or ideology, sow the seeds of their own downfall. For history is clear: from the mountains of Vietnam to the plains of Africa, from the steppes of Eastern Europe to the islands of the Pacific, the spirit of self-determination always reawakens. Empires fade, doctrines shift, but the heartbeat of freedom endures.

Yet Hamill’s words also invite compassion and humility. He does not glorify war, nor celebrate nationalism in its darker form — that narrow pride which divides humanity. Rather, he speaks of nationalism as belonging, as the deep-rooted connection between a people and their homeland. When it is joined to justice and dignity, it uplifts; when corrupted by greed or hatred, it enslaves. The task, therefore, is not to suppress nationalism, but to understand and respect it — to listen to the voice of every nation, and to recognize that true peace comes not from dominance, but from mutual recognition.

Let this then be the lesson for future generations: that freedom cannot be given; it must be claimed, and that to deny a people’s right to self-determination is to invite resistance that no army can quell. The wise must learn to see beyond ideologies and power structures, and seek instead the human truth that unites all struggles for liberty. In the world of nations, as in the soul of man, the greatest force is not wealth or doctrine, but the will to be free. Respect it, nurture it, and align with it — for only then can harmony be built that endures beyond victory or defeat.

And so, as the ancients would say, the earth remembers those who fought for their land, not those who sought to rule it. The hills of Vietnam, soaked with the blood of empires, now stand as silent witnesses to the power Hamill describes — the power of independence and self-determination, the force that outlasts all ideologies. May every nation, and every soul, learn from this truth: that freedom, once awakened, bows to no empire and kneels to no creed, for it is the eternal flame that burns at the heart of all humanity.