The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Exile Quotes

Here you have it: the Lees hardly even have time to pack their bags before leaving Laos, let alone take a peek over their shoulders. Nao Kao and Foua's parents were born in the mountains, and their parents' parents were born there, too. This uprooting takes a huge mental toll on the family, not to mention the Hmong people as a whole.

How 'bout a shot of confidence to go with that morbid self-deprecation, dear? In case you couldn't tell, Foua is being way hard on herself. After all, how long would most Americans last in the mountains of Laos? Although Foua is a sharp and skilled woman, her skills simply aren't prized much in the United States. And that makes adapting all the harder.

This is a common sentiment among Hmong refugees. In Laos, they were free to raise their families and practice their culture how they saw fit. But in America, the Hmong are forced to abide by their new home's bureaucratic nature. And after facing war, forced migration, and violence, there's nothing that the Hmong hate more than bureaucrats.

Sounds like quite a shift from the meritocracy/bureaucracy/rat-race-ocracy of America. No wonder the Hmong have such a hard time adjusting. The Hmong want to live a simple life free from interference, but that's simply not possible in the U.S. Which is pretty weird for a place renowned for its freedom, huh?

By now, the Hmong's migratory nature is hardwired into their cultural DNA. Does that mean they're happy with this nomadic existence? Not even. In their history of movement, the Hmong never choose to leave their homes—usually, they're forced out under threat of violence. Regardless, their culture manages to adapt to fit their circumstances, strengthening social bonds to ensure that the community remains intact.

That's not a nightmare you want to wake up to. Although many Hmong fought—and died—on behalf of the American government during the so-called "Quiet War," their communities didn't receive the protection they needed or deserved. Instead, they were once again forced to leave their rightful home.

This real-life journey is more harrowing than anything you'll find in Lord of the Rings. Many families arrived in Thailand with fewer people than they started out with, the Lees included. It's hard to even imagine the mental toll that this must take on the parents. And that's not even mentioning the Orcs.

Here we go again with the mental and emotional aspects of exile—which get wrapped up pretty tight with the physical part. When our lives are in danger, we don't worry about keeping up appearances or looking good—we think about surviving. There's no room for shame and sometimes there's no room for other folks, either: this is life or death and the mantra for most folks is stay alive.

You've heard of the ol' American melting pot, right? A bunch of immigrants show up in the U.S., each group adds its own flavor, everyone is an ingredient, and eventually it all blends into something tasty? Well, over the course of their history, the Hmong have been exiled more times than they can count. This part of past is a big reason they're so resistant to American culture. After all, how long is it going be before they're booted from the U.S. like they were from Laos and China? It's hard to melt if you think you're bound to be scooped out again before you can even come to a boil.

At least the U.S. government can admit that they botched the resettlement of Hmong refugees. Retrospectively, sure, but it's better than nothing. The problem wasn't their decision to bring the Hmong to America, it was the way they did it, which was completely apathetic (or at least oblivious) to the specifics of Hmong culture. That ends up biting them in the butt big-time.