Article by Mr. Dinh Hong Ky posted in the PERSPECTIVE section – vnexpress.net e-newspaper on March 27, 2018. If you pass by Macy’s Herald Square building in a hurry like most people in Manhattan, New York, you will miss a story.
There, in front of the bronze relief of Isidor and Ida Straus, I heard a special story. They were co-owners of the Macy’s department store and were the ones who lived their last moments on the fateful Titanic on April 15, 1912.
That spring, they boarded the Titanic after a winter vacation in Europe. The moment the Titanic hit an iceberg and began to sink, Ida shook her head at the lifeboat that gave priority to women and children so she could stay with her husband. Although Isidor was also given a place with his wife on the lifeboat, he still refused when there were still many women and children on board.
Witnesses who survived the disaster said that Isidor said loudly: “I will not go before other men”. And Ida said: “I will not leave my husband, we have lived together and will die together”. She ordered the maid to board the lifeboat, gave her the fur coat and said she didn’t need it anymore. The last image the survivor saw was of Mr. and Mrs. Straus holding hands standing on the deck.
The two lay in the ocean at 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912. Many believe that the image of the old couple hugging each other in bed as the water rose, which moved many viewers in the movie Titanic, was inspired by the Straus couple by James Cameron.
A bronze relief of Mr. and Mrs. Straus still stands at the memorial located at the corner of Macy’s Department Store with the inscription quoted from the Song of Songs of Solomon in the Old Testament: “Love cannot be quenched or drowned by water.” The wall outside Macy’s Department Store bears the inscription “They lived a beautiful life and died a glorious death.” It was erected by Macy’s employees after their deaths.
Passing through Manhattan, I thought about the story many times. People often talk about the Straus family with a beautiful love story, but I, think about them from the perspective of businessmen: Isidor Straus was one of the richest men in America at that time. They also had a family with 7 children who were growing up. What made them, in just a second, willing to give up their huge fortune, reputation, and power that they had spent their whole lives building?
There is a concept that has been debated by economists for many years, “Economic conscience”. Although there are still many unresolved issues, in general, they raise the question of how to resolve the conflict between the self-interested actions of individuals in society and the common values of the community; at the same time, to have balanced economic growth where benefits are shared equally among all.
Economic growth rate cannot be a measure of the quality of the economy. Because it does not prove that the journey to get rich has improved the suffering of the poor. If not to say the opposite, in many situations, it makes the poorer group more miserable.
The defendants in many court cases in Vietnam these days are high-ranking officials, once-famous wealthy businessmen. But unfortunately, part of that wealth comes from the State’s money, or more precisely, from the people’s tax money and from the power of secret public-private relationships.
The market economy is taking shape more and more clearly in Vietnam. Big brands are also starting to take shape from a class of Vietnamese businessmen and promise to become big names like the Macy’s shopping mall more than a century ago in the US. How many people will become Mr. and Mrs. Straus?
I still know and still see that many people have spent almost a lifetime in business to have a brand that seemed to be prestigious and forever but then turned out to be fake, poor quality goods. Many people are too rich but continue to sell products that are harmful to public health. Many people use money to buy personal advantages, corrupt officials, build a “fake” image of themselves and their businesses in the eyes of the public, and even “caress” their conscience.
One day, when New York changes its appearance, maybe Macy’s Center will no longer stand there and people will quickly forget the building. But the name of Mr. and Mrs. Straus will not. To me, that brand is a great brand because it is imbued with the conscience and dignity of those who do business with compassion.
Dinh Hong Ky
