If there is no action, nothing is going to change. It's simple and logic. One must do something to make something to be something else. Isn't that right?
On Jun 30, 4:25 pm, PuppyXpress <[email protected]> wrote: > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Gaffar Peang-Meth <[email protected]> > Date: Tue, Jun 29, 2010 at 11:14 AM > Subject: Action of one can lead to change > To: > > *PACIFIC DAILY NEWS > *June 30, 2010 > > *Action of one can lead to change > * > By A. Gaffar Peang-Meth > > As blue jays and cardinals compete for sunflower seeds in the feeders, and > butterflies dart from flower to flower in my garden in my sleepy town in > America's south, I dust off Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point, How > Little Things Can Make a Big Difference." > "The Tipping Point" is the biography of an idea: "Ideas and products and > messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do." It refers to "that > magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, > tips, and spreads like wildfire." > > The book takes readers through the fascinating world of stories -- from > Baltimore's syphilis epidemic, to children's shows "Sesame Street" and "Blue's > Clues," to a high-tech company in Delaware in order to "answer two simple > questions that lie at the heart of what we would like to accomplish as > educators, parents, marketers, business people and policymakers." > > He wrote: "Why is it that some ideas or behaviors or products start > epidemics and others don't? And what can we do to deliberately start and > control positive epidemics of our own?" > > Gladwell cited three characteristics: contagiousness; little causes that > have big effects; and change happening at one dramatic moment. Gladwell > presented three rules: the law of the few; the stickiness factor; and the > power context. > > As much as we would like it to, the world "does not accord with our > intuition," Gladwell wrote. We must reframe the way we think about it. > Successful people who create social epidemics "do not just do what they > think is right. They deliberately test their intuitions." > He posited that "the most ingrained assumptions" we hold about ourselves and > about each other are that we are "autonomous and inner-directed," and that > we are who we are and how we act is determined by genes and temperament. But > this isn't so, he wrote. "We are actually powerfully influenced by our > surroundings, our immediate context, and the personalities of those around > us." > > In the end, "What must underlie successful epidemics ... is a bedrock belief > that change is possible, that people can radically transform their behavior > or beliefs in the face of the right kind of impetus," he said. > > "Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable > place. It is not. With the slightest push -- in just the right place -- it > can be tipped." > > Last week, on The Washington Post's front page, Rajiv Chandrasekaran wrote > about an Afghan shopkeeper, Lalay, who organized a successful uprising of > villagers, first with 15 angry men. The group grew to 300, who conducted > foot patrols and manned checkpoints in Gizab, some 100 miles north of > Afghanistan's Kandahar, an area NATO troops ignored and considered > insignificant. Gizab connects Pakistan's lawless tribal regions to the > Afghan south, and has been a rest-and-resupply area for Taliban fighters > moving to battlegrounds in Kandahar and Helmand. > > In 2007, Taliban commanders moved into Gizab. Villagers were acquiescent. > Unemployed young men were eager to be fighters. The Taliban thought it > "untouchable." The Taliban "used to be nice to people, but then they > changed," a farmer said. They commandeered the health clinic, destroyed the > school, seized trucks along the road, stole cargo and levied taxes. Their > roadside bombs killed villagers. > > In mid-April, the Kabul government gave Lalay $24,000 to distribute to > relatives of those killed -- including members of his extended family. A > Taliban commander demanded the money. Lalay refused. Lalay's brother, and > then Lalay's father, the village tribal leader, were arrested. > > Before the arrests, Lalay and some men contacted members of the U.S. Special > Forces detachment in the two towns north, where young Afghans were organized > into local defense groups and development projects funded. The > Americanssaid they would do the same for Gizab. > > But the angry villagers didn't wait: They set up a roadblock, captured two > Taliban insurgents, and sent a messenger north to ask for the Americans' > help. Flood delayed the latter's arrival, but an Australian special forces > team arrived by helicopter to see Lalay and his men in a firefight with the > Taliban. The Americans soon arrived. But it was the few hundred Afghan > villagers who joined Lalay who sent the Taliban fleeing. > > The uprising spread to 14 neighboring villages. The U.S. Special Forces > detachment has moved to Gizab. > > The course of the war in Afghanistan isn't going to change because of Gizab, > but the shopkeeper's action brought this once-ignored area to the attention > of the Americans, who study villagers' revolt for patterns to replicate. > > This story takes me to the U.S.-based Cambodian Action Committee for Justice > and Equality, an alliance of Cambodians abroad led by Serey Ratha Sourn, a > grassroots activist. He's guided by the principles of "One Mission, One > Message, and one Multitude." He views elections in Cambodia as legitimizing > autocratic rule; believes only "people power," which is possible in > Cambodia, will bring change. > > Recently he organized representatives of land-grabbing victims from 24 > provincial capitals to hand a petition to U.N. Special Rapporteur Subedi in > Phnom Penh. > > Sourn's goal is to set up people power network in 1,621 communes in > Cambodia. His activities have caught Cambodian Premier Sen's attention. > > Former British Primier Winston Churchill said: "Success is not final, > failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts." That > applies to Sourn. > > And Italian statesman Niccolo Machiavelli said, "One change leaves the way > open for the introduction of others." > > A. Gaffar Peang-Meth, Ph.D., is retired from the University of Guam, where > he taught political science for 13 years. Write him at [email protected]. > > http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201006300300/OPINIO...- > Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. 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