Extraordinary times require exceptional people

Published: 11/11/2011 at 01:55 AM
Newspaper section: News

All Bangkokians now realise one cannot force nature to act as we desire all the time. Humans may be able to divert and temporarily change the course of nature, but in the end nature wins. We just have to learn to live more in accordance with the rules of nature rather than trying to beat it with our belief in modernisation and human superiority.

A woman prepares krathong floats for sale in the flooded district of Lat Phrao in Bangkok, on the occasion of Loy Krathong festival yesterday.

So, as the unprecedented mass of water flows relentlessly down from the north and floods the lower basin, Bangkok's citizens are are beginning to accept the inevitable _ that part, if not all, of this City of Angels will experience flooding; and eventually it will be time to pick up the pieces.

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About the author

: Writer: Suranand Vejjajiva; Position: Contributor

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onlyme
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Discussion 3 : 11/11/2011 at 12:26 PM3
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From the very earliest in our (western) education system we were taught not to litter. Littering fines were large and enforced. This garbage problem just follows the lack of education cited for so many other problems.
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whatajoke
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Discussion 2 : 11/11/2011 at 11:55 AM2
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This author is well known to BP readers as tirelessly criticising the Abhisit govt week after week, going on about the same old heresay accusations and rumours, and now that we have a new govt, who are widely regarded by most newspapers as having fallen well short of the mark in handling this crisis, we get not a word of criticism from Suranand here. Three weeks in a row now he's written about the flooding and never once hinted at any disappointment in the handling of it by YS and FROC. One can only wonder....
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Eggmeng
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Discussion 1 : 11/11/2011 at 07:13 AM1
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Yes, the garbage.

One of the things that struck me when people first started being warned, was how the 7-11s and Family Marts in Bangkok were emptied first of their goods, demonstrating the extent to which people have become accustomed to getting their meals (yes meals, not snacks) from these establishments. With each purchase comes at least one plastic bag, often two.

Despite HM the King's advice, like some countries in the West, Thailand has become a land of colossally wasteful consumerism. And yet there remains almost no discussion about the possible benefits of changing this, in the mainstream media or in schools.
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Extraordinary times require exceptional people | Bangkok Post: opinion