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I invite everyone to check out my new website, Khmeroldies.net. If you like classic Khmer songs sung by the golden voices of Sin Sisamouth, Ros Sereysothea, Pen Ron, and others, then you’ll love this site.

I prefer old Khmer songs and listen to them almost on a daily basis (damn, I feel old!), so this is a labor of love. I try to keep a good selection of oldies music performed by deceased artists as well as current Khmer singers.

I’ve long suspected widespread discrimination against Asian Americans students in the college admission process, especially by elite American universities. Here is an article shedding light on this shameful practice.

Some excerpts from the article:

Studies show that Asian-Americans meet these colleges’ admissions standards far out of proportion to their 6 percent representation in the U.S. population, and that they often need test scores hundreds of points higher than applicants from other ethnic groups to have an equal chance of admission…

…A study by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade examined applicants to top colleges from 1997, when the maximum SAT score was 1600 (today it’s 2400). Espenshade found that Asian-Americans needed a 1550 SAT to have an equal chance of getting into an elite college as white students with a 1410 or black students with an 1100.

You can read the full article here.

This practice flies in the face of meritocracy that is at the very core of American idealism. You let your fastest runners compete in the Olympics. You let your most talented basketball players become star NBA players. Why not let the brightest and most hard working students into the best universities?

This article deals with only racial discrimination at academic institutions. One can only surmise how much anti-Asian discrimination goes on in the workplace, where the practice is not as easily quantifiable.

That elite US universities insist on perpetuating this appalling practice shows that racial politics is alive and well in America, even at institutions that are supposed to promote enlightenment and help eradicate racism and discrimination.

As is expected in country generally lacking in education, superstition plays a significant role in the everyday lives of ordinary Khmers. People regularly consult fortune tellers and practitioners of magic to drive away evil spirits, make life decisions, and even cast spells on their enemies and love interests. The Buddhist temples largely have become vehicles to facilitate people’s beliefs in the supernatural.

Of course, as Buddhists we should be tolerant to the beliefs of others. However, to the extent that superstitious beliefs contradict the Buddha’s teachings themselves, I think such tolerance can go only so far. People tend to become lazy when they rely on superstitions to raise their children, conduct business, and make other life decisions. If one is clueless about something, they could go to the library or bookstore, search on the internet, or ask someone who is an expert in that field. Of course, relying on superstitious beliefs frees one from the need to make an effort to learn and think logically and rationally. In the long run, such practices will hamper the development of a nation.

It’s not surprising that the belief in superstition is most prevalent in the poorest and least educated countries around the world. Poor education contributes to superstitious beliefs, which in turn contributes to a culture of ignorance, which in turn contributes to even more superstition. It’s a pretty vicious cycle, really.

I went to a convenience store here in Phnom Penh this afternoon to pick up a couple of items. As I arrived at the checkout counter, I took my position behind another person who got there a few seconds earlier, patiently waiting for the cashier to ring him up. As the cashier handed him his change, I picked up my items to give to the cashier. Then, all of a sudden, another customer came out of nowhere and handed his goods to the cashier right in front of me. The cashier proceeded to ring him up despite knowing that I have been in line. But he didn’t stop there. A moment later, as the cashier was finished with this intruding customer, another one cut in to hand his items to the cashier.

When I first arrived in Cambodia a couple of years ago, things like this used to piss me off. I would scold at the cashier and demand he or she ring me up before anyone cuts in line. Nowadays, I’ve gotten so used to these incidences that I’ve learned to greet them with casual curiosity rather than indignation. This happens not only at convenient stores but everywhere people should be taking turns, such as ticket counters, government offices, and street intersections. When Phnom Penh motorists in Phnom Pehn approach an intersection, for instance, many look for the presence of police rather at the traffic lights.

In an impoverished country like this, people will take advantage of any opening they see, often without considering the consequences of their actions. Cutting in line to save a couple of minutes at a convenience store is totally unnecessary, but people do it anyway because they’re so used to doing things that way. It’s one thing when someone does something wrong without realizing what they’re doing is wrong. It’s another when they do not realize what they’re doing is wrong and is simply doing it out of habit. That’s not to say that bad habits are excusable. For instance, people who indulge in bad habits like drugs and gambling, they probably will eventually meet a very unpleasant fate. What will be the fate of a nation whose citizens habitually bribe, cheat and steal, without realizing what they’re doing is wrong? I think it’s great that Khmer people are patriotic enough to defend Preah Vihear to try to keep what we still have. But I think the enemy within pose a much greater threat to our civilization. It always has.

As you already may have heard, there is a new movie being made about the “Great Khmer Empire”. John Cena, the former pro wrestler, will star as the great Khmer King Jayavarman VII. Angelina Jolie, Jet Li, and a few other recognizable Hollywood names will be in it, too.

Currently, the movie is still in production. The last time I read about the movie, they were “consulting” with the Cambodian government about the “historical accuracy” of the film. It’s interesting that they’re consulting with government officials, rather than scholars and historians, about the film’s historical accuracy.

Obviously, many Khmer people are very excited about this project because they think Hollywood is showing interest in our culture. Personally, I don’t think there is anything in this movie for Khmer people to celebrate about. Casting John Cena as Jayavarman VII, the greatest of Khmer kings, is about as credible as casting some Chinese guy as George Washington in a movie about the American Revolution. And the idea of making King Jayavarman VII look like some sort of Conan the Barbarian is a complete joke.

So why aren’t Khmer people laughing? Why are most Khmers embracing this movie as some sort of honor to them? I for one would feel rather awkward watching a movie supposedly about the The Great Khmer Empire in which none of the main characters could even pronounce the word “Khmer” properly. (No, it’s not “Khmair” or “Ga-mair” or “Xmer”.)

I think that we Khmers are so beleaguered– militarily, economically, morally, and psychologically– as a people that there’s hardly any objection within our community to the making of a movie about Khmer civilization where the main roles are being played exclusively by non-Khmer actors. Cambodia today is reduced to a small fraction of the Great Khmer Empire that we once were and our people scattered throughout the world. When foreigners visit Angkor Wat, they often express disbelief, in a mocking way, how a people once capable of building a monument of such grandeur could have declined to our present state.

While I am pleased that Hollywood is shown interest in our great past, I think it’s insulting to reduce the real Khmer people to token roles in a movie about our great ancestors. If the makers of this movie do not deem Khmer actors marketable to the Western audience, then the movie is probably better off done entirely in CGI. Can you imagine the outrage in the African American community if they were to make a movie about Martin Luther King, Jr., casting a white actor in black face as the great civil rights leader?

Speaking of civil rights, I think it’s absolutely wonderful to have an African American holding the highest office of the most powerful country on the planet. As brilliant as Barack Obama is, his success cannot be credited entirely to his own efforts alone. The rise of a black man to the US presidency did not start in Uncle Tom’s cabin. Rather, it is the culmination of the sacrifice, devotion, courage, and moral defiance of Abe Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and countless other great people.

King Jayavarman VII was a great warrior. More than a warrior, he was a great intellectual, a planner and builder, a deeply spiritual person. Above all, he was a proud Khmer, a strong and assertive leader who probably would not have been very amused by this Hollywood shenanigan.

Come to think of it, the Khmers of the Angkorian period were so different from what we’ve become today that it might be more fitting– in a sad way– to have non-Khmer actors play the roles of great Khmer figures from the past. And with proper “consultation” with Cambodian government officials, they might even portray Jayavarman VII as an alien from outer space who descended temporarily upon Earth in the 12th century and chose present-day Siem Reap to build Angkor.

I think Khmer people can become great again, but it’s going to take a bit of awakening. We must understand what it takes to become great. Greatness does not come from subservience or passiveness. Greatness starts with knowing where we are and where we need to go. Greatness takes strength, vision, purpose, hard work, unity, courage, and determination. It takes pride, confidence, and assertiveness, tempered by compassion, tolerance, humility, and flexibility. Greatness takes creativity, gumption, and willingness to adapt to changing circumstances. To be great one must constantly pursue excellence and higher good on one’s own initiative and personal moral convictions, not simply to win the approval of others.