OPINION

Corrupt ideologies

Re: "End scourge of extremism", (Editorial, April 23). The extremism of religious zealotry is merely one subspecies of ideological zealotry. Ideologies like communism, Christianity, fascism, Hinduism, absolute monarchism, Islam, nationalist Buddhism, white supremacism and the rest all share common features.

Labelling it heresy or threats to national identity, they reject critical reason because it shows their foundations to be cracked. Labelling them blasphemy or fake news, they deny inconvenient facts because they contradict the ideological myths. Labelling it impious or bad morals, they refuse investigation of factual claims because the results might contradict their unsubstantiated claims. Labelling it apostasy or sedition, they condemn healthy dissent because it undermines their pretence to indivisible reverence.

Since reason, truth and honesty are of no help, to maintain their fantastic claims to preeminence, ideologies tend to physical and legal violence against dissent based on reason, evidence or honest truth seeking. This also suggests part of a solution: the state must abstain from either favouring or opposing any side in the ideological battles.

The First Amendment to the US Constitution gets this right as it seeks to remove as a legal weapon the might of the state from the hands of competing ideologies, who are left free to make their cases in the marketplace of ideas. If citizens choose Buddhism over traditional nationalistic Christianity, they must be free to do so. If patriotic groups want to publicly argue for a revision of the national historical narrative, they must be free to do so. If some want to extol communism over free markets, they must be allowed to make their case in peace. This is what good morals for a healthy society dictate.

However ancient or supposedly popular, if a traditional ideology can survive or a new one rise only by violent suppression of competing ideas, whether that suppression is by terrorist bombs or despotic rule of law, then it deserves extinction. If you would use either bombs or the force of repressive law to support your chosen ideology over others, it is already corrupt.

Re: "The mysterious subtleties of Thai culture", (B. Magazine, April 21).

I am not sure whether it is cultural subtleties or lack of vocabulary that usually results in miscommunication about real events in life.

In a similar episode about official meetings, I once asked whether we can go over the minutes of the last meeting and check what was accomplished and what was not accomplished before discussing anything new. Our secretary looked at me and said: "It is a new meeting, a new, you understand?"

In another instance, my Thai wife called me from her hometown in the Northeast. She was sobbing "Father accident, father accident?" I asked what happened, and if she was going to take him to see a doctor. She said, sobbing, "No, no, monks come in the evening today."

Thereafter for a few days, it was all gloom and doom. I could not figure out what happened and no one knew any other word, besides "accident". Well, after she came back to Bangkok I found out that there was no accident, her father actually died.

After so many years I cannot understand how cultural subtleties can change the meaning of words that capture serious events in our lives. It is indeed a mystery.