You should change your subject to " Young Khmer of my way key to future" I read the writing. It is telling that young Cambodians should do a certain way for the country success. They cannot do in anyway possible to better themselves for the future of the country. As far as we know, Cambodians have been teaching their own children that way for many years. That is why Cambodians have been fighting each other for a very long time.
On Mar 29, 11:31 am, PuppyXpress <[email protected]> wrote: > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Gaffar Peang-Meth <[email protected]> > Date: Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 11:03 AM > Subject: Young Khmers key to the future > To: > > * > PACIFIC DAILY NEWS* > March 30, 2011 > > *Young Khmers key to the future* > > A. Gaffar Peang-Meth > > For the last two weeks, my columns focused on the necessity for Khmer > youths to > cultivate quality thinking, because change is inevitable and pro-activity > does > influence the change they want to see. Their nation's future depends on > this. > > Although I am encouraged by ensuing discussions on the subject, some > readers > raise concerns, justifiably, that today's Khmer youths are caught in a > regime > that has confiscated school books, in an economy in which four million live > in > excruciating poverty, and attend public schools that received a mere 1.6 > percent of GDP, compared to 5 percent of GDP in one of the world's poorest > countries, Mozambique. > > Last week, an e-mail from a young Khmer in Phnom Penh informed me that > schools > are open only a few hours a day, and that many young Khmers don't even know > what computers are. > > A former American State Department official who served in Phnom Penh, Donald > Jameson, wrote of the need for "an urbanized, better educated and informed > citizenry," in his article, "Cambodia's Bumpy Road." But the current > regime's > inexcusable neglect of the education system will only accelerate the > increasingly unbridgeable economic and social disparities. > > Remember that of Cambodia's 14.7 million people, more than 50 percent are > younger than 21 years old -- 4.7 million are 14 and younger; 9.4 million > are > between 15 and 64. The median age is 22.9 years. The impact of a poorly > educated citizenry is incalculable, and that impact will persist for > generations. > > Yet despair is not an option. > > At this time, more than any other time, a "no can do" attitude and > unproductive activity, including gossip, back-biting, character > assassination, > etc., that distracts from a common effort to struggle against a repressive > autocracy should be discarded. A positive "yes, we can" attitude and > activities > aimed at uniting Khmers to fight for change need to be promoted. > > *Long journey* > > Recall the words of India's great leader, Mahatma Gandhi, "I look only to > the > good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won't presume to probe > into the faults of others." And recall the advice of one of the world's > great > civil rights icons, Martin Luther King Jr.: "Never succumb to the temptation > of > bitterness." > > My regular readers know I am not a fan of petitions and appeals and that my > inalienable rights are non-negotiable, but I stand in no one's way who does > petition and appeal. I take off my hat in respect to the expatriates and > others > who set aside their differences to demand their inalienable rights during > demonstrations sparked by the March 18 anniversary of the overthrow of > Prince > Sihanouk. These members of the "Lotus Revolution" hoped to focus attention > on > the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia and to demand that Hun Sen step down. > > March 18 was their first step. "A vieach york mok thveu kang; A trang york > mok > thveu kamm; A sam ro'nham york mok thveu oss dot," say the elder Khmers. > That > translates to: "Curved wood makes wheel; straight wood makes spoke; > twisted-crooked wood makes firewood." The different participants of the > Lotus > Revolution showed that everyone and everything has a place in the struggle > for > freedom! > > The journey promises to be long and full of risks. Though not everyone is > fit > for the journey, everyone can find his or her place in the struggle. Fear is > counter-productive. Neither poverty nor economic inequality, nor the > inevitability of political repression are ordained. With courage and > persistence and a strong conviction, nothing is impossible. > > As Lord Gautama Buddha, the critical thinker, said 2,500 years ago, "I do > not > believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a > fate that falls on them unless they act." > * > Personality paradigm* > > Equivalent to the saying, "Apples don't fall far from the tree," a Khmer > reader > spoke astutely of bamboo shoots, that grow into thick, tall, and rugged > bamboo > trees, as he lamented about the young Khmers who have been raised in a > corrupt > society. He wonders what kind of people they will become if this is the only > culture they have known? A fair concern. > > The "nature vs. nurture" debate is an old one. Various studies have posited > that 45 to 50 percent -- I also read 35 to 40 percent -- of a person's > personality is shaped by innate qualities or genes (nature), and the > remainder > is shaped by personal experiences (nurture). > > At school, I taught a personality development paradigm: Man acts, or not, > based > on perception. One's values and beliefs (taught, or not, by parents, > schools, > and society), and experiences influence one's opinion and interest, and make > up > attitudes. When this process is at play with his innate qualities, a > person's > personality emerges. > > A creature of habit, of repetitive thought and behavior that become > ingrained, > man's personality is more often predictable than not. If thoughts and > behaviors > are learned, so they can be unlearned. So learn from what the elders have > done, > keep what is beneficial and discard what is not. > > There are many things to learn and unlearn. > > Someone advised to achieve what one has never had, one must do what one has > never done -- a corollary to Albert Einstein's definition of insanity as > doing > the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result. > > It's important to persevere. One can hypothesize that Hun Sen perpetuates a > miserable education system by design to hold back progress and discourage an > empowered citizenry. > > Nevertheless, there is more than one route to learning. One must not > acquiesce > to circumstance. > > It's important that young Khmers focus and engage their energy in attitude > and > value changes. These will precede regime change. > > *A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam. Write > him > at [email protected].* > > http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201103300300/OPINIO...- > Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org
