no doubt, Laos is a beautiful country, rich in so many ways, especially in "nam-jai", something that's not always present. it deserves to grow and needs plenty of improvements as do many 3rd world nations.
however, i don't believe that the "trickle-down" democracy and transplanted capitalism will be the answer to Laos' problems either. like vilaseng says, it's not just the "communist gov't" but the people. communism is a beautiful ideology if implemented correctly, whether it's practical or possible in this day in time is a whole nother issue altogether.
the needs of Laos and the people is a very complex one and it will take a lot of heart to meet them. but beyond rebuilding the Laos back there along the Mekong, there is a whole 'nother Laos that exist in the states, the Laotian-American existence that continues on here, in America. If the country Laos is counting on those here, it's going to take a lot of rebuilding and unifying on this end of the world. the issues of poverty, jealousy, gangs, violence, incarceration, and yaada yaada still prevails in the Laotian-American community here, which fuckin' sux. so before we can look to fixing our mother roots, we have to try to heal the wounded roots that was re-transplanted here in the U.S. as floundering refugess, searching for a home, before we try to grow new plants of democracy and development in the mother country. there's so many pieces and sharp fragments of untold pains and frustrations of the struggles that Laotian-Americans face, leaving us with nothing to put together. so before all this sounds like just a bunch of hopeless idealism, take some time to reflect on the reality and what it means to truly be "Laotian-Americans" wanting a better Laos or a better America for us all.
btw, about the guy thing. Laotian guys are HOT just as any of the other men out there. they're humans too..we're all fallable. every community has thier issues, and males on the whole are capable of being assholes in everyway. u just have to dig through the pile. our experience and upbringing has heck of a lot more to do with who we are than our ethnic origins. rakniran, keep searching n eventually u'll realize even reality is deceiving.
i'm glad this forum exists for those who do dream. dreaming is a step towards the conceptoin of a reality.