Understanding History tells us how we got to where we are today 

By Bob Peters || January 31, 2025

This blog post is light on the financial themes normally found on this site. Rigorous historical analysis can be very helpful to better understand the world we live in today.  This post highlights a very consequential time in Cambodian history and the importance of critical thinking.

The Current State of Play 

In so many ways understanding history tells us how we got to where we are today.  Whether its public policy, government, business or geopolitics having a level of competency of history goes a long way to explain the current state of play.  My wife and I recently visited Cambodia and Vietnam and thoroughly enjoyed our time learning about the history, culture and resilience of these warm and gracious people. 

Vietnam War…a time of social and political upheaval 

Born in 1961, I was too young to have been drafted into the military service during the Vietnam War (aka the American War in Vietnam) but I was old enough during the later years of the war to have had a degree of awareness.  I lived next to one family who had two sons that served in the Army and AirForce living next door to another family whose similar aged kids were part of the “hippie”, anti-establishment movement.  Suffice to say, the 60’s and 70’s had its share of social and political upheaval.  

If you want to learn more about the history of America’s involvement with Vietnam, I encourage you to watch the Ken Burns series, The Vietnam War. Ken Burns is a wonderful historian and story teller who does a very good job of critically reviewing the facts from all sides.  This post will not reflect on Vietnam but instead focus on a bit of Cambodian history (4 years between 1975-1979) that many folks (including yours truly) in the US were not aware of until the release of a 1984 movie based on a true story during this period.  

International Studies and the lightbulb moment 

In the fall of 1981, I declared my college major to be International Studies.  This was the second year the university had offered an undergraduate program and two years before renaming the school after Washington’s long serving senator, Henry “Scoop” Jackson. I graduated with a BA degree in March 1984 and despite an immersion into the academics around International Studies I did not recall having any real knowledge of the significance of the 1975-1979 period in Cambodia until the British biographical drama, The Killing Fields, was released in November 1984.

The “lighbulb” moment was realizing that I knew only a fraction of the world despite my studies.  An apt analogy might be the weather. On a given day you experience weather where you are present. You might read or listen to a weather report about storms in different parts of the country but you probably don’t follow the weather in Rwanda or Cambodia.  Watching The Killing Fields made me appreciate the importance of seeking out “weather reports” if you want to learn about the world beyond the front page of the newspaper or your social media feed. 

Every 4th person 

Cambodia was drawn into the Vietnam War in March 1969 when the US began a 4-year campaign to bomb suspected communist base camps and supply zones sympathetic to the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army.  While there is no definitive death toll it is estimated that between 100,000 and 500,000 died directly from the bombings (mostly civilians) and hundreds of thousands more died from starvation and disease between 1969-1973. 

In 1975 a very radical government, the Khmer Rouge, took control of the country and set about to inflict a genocide against its own population where every 4th person (at least 1.7 million of the 7.3 million population) were systematically killed. The Khmer Rouge believed that educated “intellectuals” (teachers, doctors, lawyers, engineers) as well as ethnic minority groups were a threat.  Similar to the Nazi concentration camps that killed millions of Jews during WW 2, the Khmer Rouge established a system of approximately 190 torture and interrogation centers before taking victims to the Killing Fields where they were brutally killed. 

In front of my eyes  

I attended high school from 1975-1979 and while I knew about the Vietnam War I did not have any recollection of what was happening in Cambodia.  I recall hearing about the US “carpet bombing” campaign but did not understand the magnitude of impact.  After taking many history and international current events courses, I did not have any knowledge of what happened in Cambodia while it was going on.  To use my weather analogy, in front of my eyes, I was oblivious to the catastrophic “weather” event on the other side of the world.  

Forty-five years later 

Forty-five years after the end of the Khmer Rouge reign of terror I had the opportunity to visit Cambodia.  Besides exploring the ancient city of Angkor Thom and the Angkor Wat temple we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh where somewhere around 19,000 victims had been tortured and killed.  Of the estimated 19,000 victims, only 7 survived.  Two of the seven, Chum Mey (far left) and Bou Meng (third from right), were still living and were at the museum on the day of our visit.  A great resource to better understand this dark history is the Documentation Center of Cambodia that was established after the US Congress passed the Cambodian Genocide Justice Act and signed into law by President Clinton in 1994. 

The Killing Field, Healing and Justice 

We also visited the Killing Field located a short distance out of Phnom Penh where erosion continues to uncover clothed human remains every day…Forty-five years later.  So hard.  So sad. A story that needs to be told forty-five years later. 

Forty-five years later the Cambodian people are still healing.  Landmines are still being removed while survivors and perpetrators of the genocide mix in daily life.  There remain societal tensions as only a very small number of top-level Khmer Rouge officials were held accountable. Approximately 95% of Cambodian’s practice Buddhism which ascribes to a belief that your actions in this life will have consequences when you are reincarnated.  A form of justice to be delivered down the road.

An intrepid traveler… an insightful perspective 

We finished our Cambodia/Vietnam trip visiting a family friend in Hanoi.  This young lady, all of 25 years young, has traveled to over 30 countries including a year-long au pair gig in France and is currently teaching English in Vietnam.  I asked this intrepid traveler what came to mind after so much international exposure.  In so many words she said that traveling made it easier to change her views and opinions.  This was such an insightful perspective.  The more I thought about it the more powerful the message. 

In my own personal life journey I realize the more I learn the less I know.  I studied  international systems and history while in school but I did not know about the atrocities in Cambodia.  I did not know that de-mining efforts continue in both Vietnam and Cambodia and that hundreds of people (including many children) die every year from an estimated 2 million unexploded ordinances…Forty-five years later.

I believe that to be open to change your mind is a strength, not a weakness. 

Leaving Cambodia behind and closing with a thought on critical thinking and Mark Twain 

it ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble. It’s what you know for certain than just ain’t true

Life will treat you well the better you are able to strengthen your critical thinking muscle.  We live in an age where information comes at us from all directions.  It is increasingly important to have a process to filter fact from fiction.  Many of the world’s genocides stem from misinformation and the pursuit of power and corruption.

-Critical thinkers analyze, evaluate and make judgements based on evidence.  They are willing to take in multiple perspectives and change their minds based on new evidence.

-Critical thinkers understand that humans are wired for fear, greed and the impact of dopamine on our decision making.  They will not be afraid to admit mistakes and to change opinions as new, credible information is gathered.

-Critical thinkers understand that many life issues are not served well by sound bites from people with agendas or trying to “sell you” complexity to justify their product or service.

I love critical thinking and I hope you find it helpful as you navigate your financial and non-financial future. 

To wrap it up, Mark Twain is often credited with the saying “it ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble.  It’s what you know for certain than just ain’t true”.  That’s worth thinking about.