OPINION

In your dreams

Re: "Thais dream of democracy", (Editorial, May 18).

The heading of today's editorial is very apt. Yes, democracy will remain a dream, rather a pipe dream, as long as the military holds all the cards in the Thai Game of Thrones. Thai people also know well that the three pillars of governance -- the Legislative, Executive and Judicial -- automatically succumb and become subservient to whosoever comes to power. There is no history or evidence of checks and balances of these three powers interacting in an equitable and balanced ways.

The separation of powers is an essential element of the rule of law and is crucial for cultivating a viable democracy. Recently, we have seen the degradation of polity in Sri Lanka and Pakistan. We see the same in countries bordering Thailand. Thailand is lucky with its natural resources and relatively stable economy. But cultivating democracy is not possible as long as the military, the oligarchs and the police are hand-in-glove in controlling the affairs of the state.

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said, "For, if liberty and equality, as some persons suppose, are chiefly to be found in a democracy, they will be attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost."

Will it ever be possible for Thailand to achieve this goal?

Disorder of merit

Re: "School demerit policy causes stir", (BP, May 11).

Are schools teaching our children to be hypocrites?

A Surin school will slash 50 points off a student's "good behaviour" score if he/she conducts activities considered a threat to the highest institution, nation or religion.

But our military has conducted 13 successful and nine unsuccessful coups d'etat in just over a century -- a world record.

The military overthrew legitimate governments from those that had been elected and thus reflected the people's will.

Is taking power from a royally appointed government by force not an act of lese majeste and/or a threat to the nation? Yet almost nobody's been court-martialled or otherwise held accountable.

Au contraire -- as now -- we laud the coup d'etat leaders. No wonder our children are befuddled when we tell them that if they even so much as peacefully protest they may be severely punished. Do we want our children to be hypocrites?

All too human

Re: "Too much Pali", (PostBag, May 17).

Phra Alan James Cooper's letter to PostBag was appreciated, along with his scholarly insights into how the Pali language is embedded within Thai-style Buddhism -- even though neither the Buddha nor Thai folk are apprised of that language. Another perspective on the Buddha, this time coming from an American (me) who has studied the world's major religions (and written a book about Milarepa, a Tibetan Buddhist poet/saint) is that the Buddha occasionally had headaches. This was mentioned to me by a Canadian Buddhist scholar. It may seem petty, but that little factoid shed light on the fact that the Buddha was human, and not some perfect gold-radiating icon floating above all mortals. Knowing the Buddha had human characteristics and foibles makes him more appealing (to me), than being compelled to believe the image that orthodox Buddhism portrays. I don't need my heroes to be absolute perfection.