As I write these words, I am riding the overnight bus from Yangon to Bagan. We are currently hurtling along a bumpy road at an unsafe speed, occasionally lurching from side to side or being jolted by the high impact of tires hitting fissures in the asphalt. Don't get me wrong: I'm grateful for this express bus service linking the two towns that are 627 kilometers or 390 miles apart. I’ve heard that this is a much safer way to travel than taking a train or a plane, which tells you something about the country's transportation infrastructure. While the other passengers sleep, I find myself gazing at the moonlit countryside and thinking about Myanmar.

This is a complicated country in a complicated region. With the luxury of time, I have been reading the histories of many of the places we have visited as we made our way across Southeast Asia, an artificial construct if ever there was one. What has impressed me the most is the rich diversity of neighboring countries, like Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar. There are some common themes and traits, but each has its own distinct characteristics and stages of development.

Take Myanmar for example. It shares some of its long history with allies like China and foes like Thailand, yet the people here are nothing like their peers elsewhere. They appear to be more traditional, conservative and sophisticated. The women wear elegant clothes with long sleeves and skirts down to their ankles, accentuating their slender figures and giving them a dignified air, even in grinding poverty. Men also cut a dashing figure with their dress shirts and "longhi" skirts wrapped around their waists. Young people in particular have a sense of flair and a nose for fashion.

When walking the streets of Yangon, you really feel like you're in that mythical Southeast Asia of your dreams. From crumbling colonial architecture to street markets on every corner, and a pervading smell of fish sauce wafting through the air—every step brings a sense of adventure. Foreigners are still a rare sight, so they still draw a lot of stares from locals, but it stems from benign curiosity. When you catch someone in the midst of a stare, they quickly look away. 

Some people ask us where we come from and how long we've been in Myanmar. This is my first big trip on my U.S. passport since becoming a citizen and I feel like a goodwill ambassador already. Interestingly, without giving the matter any thought, we've been telling everyone we're from California, like it's a country.

It's not the easiest time to be an American abroad. Having said that, we tend to think that the world revolves around us when, really, it doesn't. Everyone smiles in recognition and says how much they would like to visit our country, but visas are hard to come by. There is still a lot of positive feeling towards the States around the world and people often mention Obama, but most have moved on with their lives and don't spend much time thinking about us. China and others have been more than happy to step into our isolationist void.

It's easy to forget that Myanmar has only been open to the world for a few short years. When the British Empire collapsed after the Second World War, the Burmese pushed hard for Independence. One of the heroes of those early days in the struggle for Independence was General Aung Saung, the father of the current leader of Myanmar, Aung Saung Suu Kyi. The country soon won its freedom, but the military took over from the Brits, establishing a new type of dictatorship. Any dissenting voices and potential troublemakers like General Aung Saung were ruthlessly eliminated.

In subsequent decades, Burma became notorious for its repressive regime and atrocious human rights record. In 1988, the General's daughter, Aung Saung Suu Kyi, stepped into her father's shoes and advocated for Independence. She was rewarded with fifteen years of imprisonment in the confines of her own house, while other members of her party languished in jail. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the 1990s, but remained a prisoner in her own home for many more years.

Today, Daw Aung Saung, to use her honorific title, is theoretically the leader of Myanmar. However, she is merely the State Counselor, the face of the government, but not the real power behind the throne. That dubious honor goes to General Min Aung Hlaing, a political player virtually unknown in international circles. He is a very savvy politician who has managed to maintain power among a small circle of military careerists and their families. He rules with the same iron first as his predecessors, but operates behind the scenes.

The big story in our ephemeral news cycle is the plight of the Rohingya. This Muslim monitory on the border with Bangladesh has been fighting for autonomy and recognition with increasingly strident means. The Burmese military forces have responded with heavy tactics—killing, raping and pillaging to push Rohingya villagers out of Myanmar. Most of these people are now displaced in neighboring Bangladesh, living in atrocious conditions and facing a bleak future in makeshift refugee camps.

This kind of tragedy is catnip to news media and nongovernmental organizations: a persecuted minority in a faraway exotic country, senseless human tragedy, and a star fallen from grace. Accordingly, the media have adopted the Rohingya as their cause of the day. Human rights activists have been pushing for worldwide condemnation of the crisis as ethnic cleansing. The West denounces Aung Saung Suu Kyi for ignoring the situation and not doing anything about  it. There are calls from luminaries such as Bono to strip her of her Nobel Prize. I fear what will happen when all of these people move on to their next cause and Myanmar is forgotten by the outside world once again.

All these voices seem to be misreading the current climate in Myanmar. The country's hard-won peace is fragile. The country has recently opened up its doors to outside visitors and investors. Local residents have access to the internet and can speak more freely than ever. However, this is a country that is still run by the military behind the scenes. They resent everything that democratic activists like Aung Saung Suu Kyi and her colleagues have achieved. Only now, as before, they are acting with impunity, because the world is rushing to condemn the democratically elected government instead.

During the course of our trip around the world, I have become aware of many of my own shortcomings. Case in point is my tendency to think I know a fair amount about politics and international relations. In reality, life is messy and complicated. It's easy to pass judgment on a situation if you're not living it. When you have skin in the game, the stakes are higher and human nature reveals itself more readily.

Years of sanctions against the Burmese military regime have not had the desired effect. The international community hoped to provoke the collapse of the government, but instead we isolated ordinary people and caused much suffering. Most international advocates appear to be achieving the exact opposite of what they hope by applying the same kind of pressure on Myanmar today. However, most of the Burmese population does not see the Rohingya as a distinct ethnic minority. No matter how much we threaten Myanmar with sanctions, this attitude is unlikely to change. In fact, we risk pushing public opinion into the court of the shadow military government.

Right now, the greatest risk to the country is that it will fall back into its old ways. While my heart goes out to the Rohingya people who have suffered at the hands of Myanmar, I do not feel it is my place to tell people what to do. I no longer feel like we have all the answers; that our brand of democracy is the best. Maybe it's time to let the people of Myanmar decide for themselves and trust that they will determine the best course of action. It certainly seems like they do not want to go back to the decades of darkness under military rule.

I hope that, one day, this beautiful country with 135 recognized ethnic minorities will become a full-fledged democracy that can join the international community. I also hope that the Rohingya become the 136th official ethnic group. Until that happens, I wish the democratically elected government and the people it serves all the very best of luck. I know many of you will be unsatisfied with this tentative analysis, but, as I said, Myanmar is complicated...