Myths and Journey to Light

Humans are myth-makers. Myths are designed to explain the unexplainable (yet) and to justify one's actions or views of oneself and others. Some humans are comfortable with myths foisted upon them; others are born to question and wonder.

Myths have many types: religious (most bizarre and yet most enduring, a testament of the paradox of Man), scientific (usually in the form of assumptions and hypotheses, and most susceptible to changes and revisions),  political/social ("White Man's burden, the inability of non-white and non-Europeans in Asia to govern themselves, concept of nationalism is foreign to peoples in Asia and Africa, superiority of social and economic developments of Protestant Christian societies over Catholic counterparts, the "fatalism" and "passivity" of Hindu culture and Buddhist culture were responsible for the stagnation of India and China, the "endurance" of the "monolithic" Communism, and the lethargy of the "Arab Street", to cite the examples of political/social myths which were bandied around for the last two hundred years).

One by one the aforementioned myths fell to the wayside. The myth concerning the lethargy of the Arab Street is being shattered right now. The Arabs are rising up against autocratic regimes which have long suppressed them. They are no longer lethargic. They are no longer fearful. They are becoming a fearsome force.

There are several myths concerning the Viet people. They are of exalting origin (descendants of the union between a dragon and a fairy). They are brave and intelligent and hard-working. They are an assertive and aggressive race (they conquered the Champa kingdom, took lands from the Khmer, and were in fact colonizing Cambodia and Laos when the French invaded their country under the pretext of protecting Christian converts ).They value independence. They have fought against and defeated the Chinese, the French, and the Americans in the name of freedom and democracy. Let us see if years (since 1954 in North Vietnam and since 1975 in the South) of living under the oppressive, repressive, shamelessly lying and corrupt (and thus lacking legitimacy and support) VC regime, the once-valiant, freedom-loving, and self-respecting Viet people would rise up against their oppressors or will they continue being content with basic animal needs, especially those related to survival, and continue "accepting" the red capitalists of the name Viet Cong as their masters?