Adjust military attitude

There is, I believe, one person in Thailand who more than any other really does need an "attitude adjustment", and that is a general.

The relevant issue concerns freedom of speech, of which there is little, and indeed can be only little, in a military organisation -- the reason being that if lower ranking personnel were allowed to publicly criticise or condemn the actions of higher ranking officers, no discipline would remain within the unit and no mission could be successfully accomplished.

In other words, what one might call "democracy" within the context of a military organisation cannot exist, as that would be antithetic to its operations -- wherein everything is, and indeed must be, controlled top-down.

This is understandable. However, if the general of a military organisation imposes himself, however well-meaningfully, into the governance of a politically divided country nonetheless regarded as a democracy, and then pledges to "restore" that country to the democracy which seems to have disappeared there, he assuredly is dealing with a concept fully alien to his own professional experience -- and indeed his personal attitude towards "democracy" must, I daresay, inevitably be somewhat more of disdain than respect.

Indeed, such a general, as is the case with the one we have now, will rule the citizenry and others as though they were members of a military "regiment", wherein there must be no "freedom of speech" in terms of criticising him or his unit (read government) -- else perceived violators, or "criminals", must be "attitude-adjusted" or imprisoned, no matter how relatively minor the free speech inconvenience to himself and his coup-acquired government may have been, or is perceived by others to be.

Certainly, I would aver that our general is a good man, not a bad man, and that he means well for his country. In fact, to achieve the "improvements" he wishes for Thailand (and many of those are indeed laudable), he has utilised his own apparently "legal" power to do or decree anything he wishes, with the predictable downside being that this has elevated (or one might say lowered) himself to the status of dictator.

Dictators, of course, often do (or at least attempt to do) some great things, for which the citizens of their country are grateful.

Finally, one such aspiration this general has announced is to "return happiness to the people", though this can never be done unless he returns Thailand itself back to the people. Please! Kindly adjust your own attitude, sir, and give Thailand back to the Thais!

There will always be conflicts and problems, no matter what one does, and no matter how much anyone wishes it were otherwise. Nothing is ever perfect, nor are the Thais and their democracy.

Nor indeed, sir, are you yourself perfect! And however much we may legitimately criticise you (only in private of course), I truly believe that the people of Thailand are grateful for your good accomplishments, efforts and best wishes.

Last of all, sir, please go easy on the new constitution, which has been formulated for the benefit of a democratic society! Let people have their say and the power to judge and vote on it as they alone choose.

James Farang-Thai
Citizens, take note

Three chai-yo for salapao vendor Kamtorn Amphanprem, who started the #sonsOfPoliceSoWhat hashtag campaign and led supporters to the National Police Office and Channel 3 (ThaiPulse, May 17) out of concern that the four sons of policemen and two others who allegedly beat and stabbed a handicapped man to death on May 1 will escape a premeditated murder charge simply because they are sons of cops.

They daringly seek to extend rule of law to even police families -- what impudence!

Khun Kamtorn has great moral courage, for being a simple vendor, he is daily at the mercy of ill-treatment or worse by the local police. He never knew the victim -- yet he seeks justice for him.

As Robert F Kennedy said: "Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change."

He is a role model for all of us, especially those who see wrong but keep silent, like me -- and you, dear reader?

Burin Kantabutra

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