Hush now, don't explain, you're the cause of all my trouble and pain.

Thank you, Rachel Hook, for your musical taste. This title comes from 'Don't Explain' by Cat Power.

I’ve never been much of a history buff, and unfortunately, I lack the ability to summarize any historical event well. But- I will tell you what I know.

I know that in the 1970’s Cambodia came under the control of the Khmer Rouge- a corrupt communist regime. Khmer Rouge leaders were obsessed with the idea that their rule and revolution in Cambodia be "pure." Their revolution was characterized by such principles as: no tolerance for individuality, they believed intelligence was a threat, and therefore executed college students, teachers, and doctors in particular. The Khmer Rouge’s ideology regarding Cambodian people was, “to preserve you is no gain, to destroy you is no loss.” They only sought to create a ‘perfect’ agrarian, self-sufficient society. Somewhere along the way their value of the human life was completely lost. Their ugly dreams took precedence over humanity.

Under Khmer Rouge rule, the country saw famine, injustice, and genocide. In three-and-a-half years, out of a population of eight million people, more than two million people had died. It was one of the most lethal regimes of the 20th century.

I’ve been having a really hard time just studying, and learning of these events in Cambodia. It’s hard to believe that this all happened, not so long ago. It’s impossible to believe that such a regime could ever exist. How could it? Why didn’t anyone stop it? I suppose we ask these questions of all the genocides that line our world’s history. It’s devastating. It’s hard to swallow. It’s simply unjustifiable. But then we ask, what could we have done? What can we do?

Maybe I’m a bit of a hippie, but can we not just love? And I don’t mean simply our families, our friends. Can we not try to love those that we think are impossible to love, those that are so different from us? Our enemies even? How did we even come to make enemies in the first place? It seems I’m asking many a question, and giving few answers. But I think they are questions that are important to find answers to, not simply think on.

I think Martin Luther King Jr. had it right when he said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” Because if we haven’t each other, what do we have?

Alas, the wheels in my head are turning, and I think this post has become rather complicated. I hope you have found some worth in it. I’ll be in Cambodia soon- and I will write on what I find there.

(If you want to read more on Cambodia's history, check out http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/)