SatJaDham proudly presents an installment in our series of "Generation Gap". Written by Ketmani Kouanchao a graduate of University of Minnesota. Bitter Sweet By Ketmani Kouanchao It is evident that we are seeing more and more of our people (young and old) drifting away from our roots, becoming despaired and alienated as they turn that negative energy (expressed against them) towards themselves and others like them. I am very bitter by the continual break-down of our family and community for the sake of acculturation. There is no one I knew who hasn't been affected by generation gap; be it through personal or shared stories. What I've seen, read and experienced is a constant reminder that life for khon Lao in the US is still a struggle. While everyone seemed to blame, no one wants to take responsibility for their actions. Consequently, every blame is equally destructive to our community and our families, since it can close all channel of communication. As an educator, I often wondered if we'll ever find the cure for this sickness. I've lead some classes on cross-cultural parenting and adolescent education. Reluctantly, at every class, I ended up feeling as though, for every step we take...we also take two steps back. So often, my audiences' view got clouded by their despair and their internal racism for any progression. The common quotes are, "I don't know what to do anymore, they don't listen to me," and "why can't they be like this or that." In those classes, I used a "bridge" as a metaphor. A bridge of communication so our elders and our young can alleviate some of the pains endured while trying to communicate. But, because of the constant bombardment of despair and internal racism, I can't help feeling that one of these days, the bridge will be torch from both ends. Generation gap and all its' problems, to me, go deeper than our youth's lack of respect for our elders. The disrespect for people's culture has been and still is ingrained into this system. I was reminded (at a conference) of how people of color and their cultures have been treated in this country throughout history. One Native American woman spoke of the brutal treatment of her father when he was in an orphanage run by the Quakers...he was beaten severely every time he speaks in his native tough. A Japanese professor at one of the San Francisco's community colleges also shared her experiences in the internment camp...it took her many pains staking years for her to come to term with her identity, for, she hated everything that is Japanese. Need I go on? I don't want to give all the credits to "the system" for the mult-faceted problems attached to generation gap, but it sure does played a big part in reinforcing the Western Traditionalist view on others. Since the majority of our youth have been taught under the microscopic lens of the Western Traditionalist, this may explain many of the symptoms andthe behaviors that have been disrespectfully expressed. However, I also believed that only time will heal the wounds and hopefully it will also bring wisdom to some of our youth who have been used and fooled by the system. Fortunately, there's nothing sweeter then to see more awareness raising khon Lao out there implementing policies, making decisions and holding the canon for a change. *****Any comments, please post here on SCL or write to ****** ***** "LaoLit: Satjadham" Laolit@zac.lao.net ***** For our current and previous works, please aim your web browser to http://www.sonic.net/~kongkeo/sjdnews.html