Sure, there are books out there, but if we aren't nurtured to appreciate the importance of history from a young age, why would we read them?
We live in a transitional period. Ten or 20 years from now, when students learn about the current political struggle and social divides in history classes ... well, what history classes? Are there any?
Thailand is a country doomed to repeat past mistakes over and over because we simply don't learn from history. In fact, we are not required to. Moreover, we are not nurtured to. Perhaps even, we are encouraged not to.
Black May 1992 and the student uprisings in 1973 and 1976? We sort of have an idea about those events, but how many actually know what went down and why?
Plaek Phibulsonggram? Sarit Thanarat? Thanom Kittikachorn? Ask people under 40 years old who they are, and likely we would have an idea, but we wouldn't really know how they actually shaped Thailand into what it is today.
Ask people under 30 who those three might be, and the answer could very well be: ''A new boy band?''
In Thailand, there are hundreds of colleges and universities. Some may teach a vague historical course or two, but perhaps only a couple delve deeply into our pasts.
Sure there are history books out there, but if we aren't nurtured to appreciate the importance of history from a young age, why would we read them? After all, history isn't taught in primary or secondary schools. Myths and propaganda are hammered into our brains, but not history.
It would be a testament to the evolution of the Thai intellect if 10 years from now, students across the Kingdom have classroom debates on the question of why both the UDD and the PDRC rejected the democratic election offered by the Democrat government in 2010 and the Pheu Thai government in 2014?
Or better yet, to discuss the topic: The effect of the royal succession on politics and society.
We may reform the electoral process until the Democrats can actually win an election. We may reform the judicial process so that Thaksin Shinawatra can get an amnesty. We may rewrite the constitution a thousand times over, but at the end of the day, none of these things will cure the disease of ignorance.
Real reform starts with the mind, and that means education, nurtured from a young age. There are brilliant Thais out there, but they are brilliant not because of the education system, but in spite of it.
Today is the consequence of yesterday. If there's any glaring horror that could be observed from the past eight years of political struggle it is the ignorance displayed by both sides of the divide, from leaders to supporters.
The transitional period is something every society goes through, but with all the histories out there to learn from, we still manage to be in such a mess. This is simply because we are clueless about ourselves and the world around us.
How are we to shape the future, if we haven't learned about our past? How are we to understand where we are today, if we don't study the history that led to the present?
If we don't know the past, then we can't understand the present, as such we become victims of the future, instead of masters of our national destiny. In fact, we can't even discuss the future properly as there are powerful forces eager to abuse the lese majeste law for their political gains.
If Thailand wants real reform, this is real reform: Teach history. Learn what happened. Analyse how it happened. Investigate why it happened. Question our own world.
How the 1932 democratic revolution turned into the dictatorship of Plaek Phibulsonggram. How Sarit Thanarat united Thailand under the monarchy. How Thailand made it through the Cold War and the communist threat.
How the designated national identity and effective political communication shape Thai society. How the ideology of democracy relates to the traditional Thai culture. How the military plays a key role in our politics.
How Prem Tinsulanonda steered the ship. How the crisis of the 1990s led to the rise of Thaksin Shinawatra. How the feudal patchwork of Thailand is breaking apart.
How society copes in a land where feudalism, democracy and dictatorship are in such a tangled mess.
We have the academics that can write the books. They can teach the teachers. The government can make history a required course. Those topics can be allocated appropriately between the different grade levels.
Every school and university ought to be teaching, learning and discussing these issues. Companies should set up such courses as part of CSR, corporate social responsibility. Don't just plant trees, also plant the minds.
You want reform? This is reform.
Contact Voranai Vanijaka via email at voranai@gmail.com.