The Land of Smiles

Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia that has never been colonised.

I used to show students in the Cross Cultural Communication class the movie "Anna and the King". (I don't any more because it's quite an old film and long and students get bored...) Other than the cultural miscommunication and adaptation, from the movie you can see very clearly how Thailand was (still is) a monarchy.

It's even more obvious in the land of Thailand itself.

So it was the King's 60 years on the throne. It was amazing to see that almost everyone was wearing yellow - in particular yellow t-shirt that has the words "I Love the King" (in Thai) printed on. Yellow wristband that said "I Love The King".

The sea of yellow. You can sense the respect and love its people have on the King. And it was very touching and powerful. The young and the old. It's not just about the feeling of the older generation, it's everyone.

Anyway, in a monarchy, a king or queen whose right to rule was passed on to the children. For the past 60 years, the King had, on rare occassions, intervened in political turmoil, and had helped bring Thailand to a democratic society.

So you wonder. What kind of government do we really want? When we say "democracy", what do we really mean? Look at USA. Look at India. Look at Thailand (democracy state with a monarch - which is common practise in today's world). And then look at Singapore. Is it just about freedom of speech? Is it just about having been heard?

At the end of the day, politics (no matter what type of government) is about heart. It is about our daily lives. It is about our culture - yes, politics shape our culture and culture shapes our political institution - it is about the world we want to leave for our next generation.

"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." -- Sir Winston Churchill