Loving our country is supposed to be our noble duty. But loving our country has become harder and harder to sustain.
I want to be truthful and honest, so let me ask:
Can we love a country where our people live in fear, threat, and intimidation?
Can we love a country where the gap between rich and poor is obscene — just look at the wedding ceremonies of the well-connected elite?
Can we love a country where our freedom to speak up is completely restricted?
Can we love a country where leaders oppress their own people simply for disagreeing with them?
Can we love a country where endemic corruption and land grabs have become the norm?
Can we love a country with no rule of law — only rule by one strongman?
Can we love a country where there is no justice for all, only justice for the rich and powerful?
Can we love a country where we can be arrested and imprisoned — for "incitement" or "causing social disorder" — whenever the leadership decides, with no judge or jury to determine whether we did anything wrong?
Can we love a country where there is no meritocracy — only nepotism and “Kse” (strings/connections), the Khmer way of holding and consolidating power?
Can we love a country where only the offspring of the ruling party can lead, without ever earning the people's support?
Can we love a country where telling the truth is treated as an offense against the abusers?
Can we love a country where a neighbor like Thailand can take our sovereign land at will?
Can we love a country where online scam compounds keep operating scandal after scandal, with no accountability from those at the top?
Can we love a country that has been led by the same ruler and now his son for more than four decades?
I'm sure all of us hate to say it, but loving our homeland like this is starting to feel like an abused spouse still loving their abuser.
Note: This reflection was refined with AI for grammar, word choice, and structure. The ideas and metaphor expressed here are entirely my own.
