Take It Easy Buddy, It's Just Politics; Thai Opinion

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Take it easy buddy, it's just politics

By Tulsathit Taptim

One of the coolest-quotes-on-the-planet Twitter accounts that I follow differentiates between "good friend" and "best friend" this way: Good friend saves you from hell, while best friend stays there with you and makes it fun.

That's not quite been the case on social networks over the past week, however. Best friends celebrated or bemoaned election results with you, and that was that. The others are enemies.

If you have managed to go through the week without "unfriending", "blocking" or "hiding" a pal because of his or her reaction to the poll outcome, I salute you. To those who gave in to emotions, I know "Sondhi's the biggest joke", or "Abhisit should go home to his mama", or "Thaksin's just a crook, Yingluck's just a cook" is a little hard to bear, but try the basic perspective. Why are you disowning people you really know for those whom you only have vague notions about?

How many of us have ever met Sondhi, Abhisit or Thaksin in person, let alone really knowing them? They are playing politics, for crying out loud, and the word "play" is used with "politics" for good reason. Guys like these count on us to love them and hate their rivals. It's the measure of their success or failure, and there's nothing wrong with that. What's wrong is, to do it effectively they also have to make their supporters hate their rivals' fans as well, and many of us have walked straight into the trap.

We think we are merely acting on our faith. That could be true to a certain degree, but more likely most of us have simply been manipulated. Politics make us overlook the closest, most relevant things in life - like how a friend shared scant food and deepest secrets with us - and care for abstract matters like whose virtues are better. Friendship produces a mutual agreement that nothing is perfect, whereas politics throws "goodness" on the table for a holier-than-thou contest.

We can see what's seriously wrong here. Friends don't compete with each other to be the holier ones. The race to heaven is for antagonists. The race to heaven is why the world has seen so many wars. When people can't agree on whose versions of "goodness" are better, most of the time they fight and let evil take over. Politics ensures that it happens that way, and only politics can glorify this dark process.

Don't get me wrong. Everybody has the right to type the night away, venomously attacking "the other side". My point is, it's one thing to dissect Jatuporn Prompan or Suthep Thaugsuban, but it's another to publish on Facebook a line like "I couldn't believe I've been friends with them" only because "they" think differently. Freedom of expression is good, as long as we don't use it to bring down something that took years to build just because political players have been fighting.

Friends disagree. Friends fight. They even turn their backs on each other. But a God-loving friend will never degrade a friend who lacks faith. It's all right to have political beliefs, to love Thaksin and hate Abhisit and vice versa. It's a shame to use such beliefs to judge those who should have been measured with a totally different tool.

"Blind faith" has been used by estranged friends to describe each other on the social networks. Thing is, "blind faith" doesn't necessarily cover bad values. It can involve a misguided person who has an absolutely fantastic ideal but uses it as a wrong barometer on another human being. (And that is assuming that the current political crisis of Thailand really has anything at all to do with an ideal.)

Politics, here at least, works best through widespread stereotyping. We are never told "Thaksin's a cheat, but his red shirts are our country's backbone and some of them must have helped push your broken-down car that time." Or "Abhisit's a cruel snob but taxes from his supporters keep the economy going and their donations were integral in the flood relief."

The politicians never tell us such truth, because it doesn't benefit them. Love may win them elections, but fear and hatred are their insurance policies. They give us a "noble" cause that is never there but, if pursued, will gradually take away all the things that are real in our lives.

It's their only method, but they don't need anything else because this one works every time. They create elusive "heavens" somewhere and then just sit and watch all the friends scrambling away from "hell" in all directions. Like that song about friendship says, "They'll take your soul if you let them…"

So, that leaves the question "Will you let them?"

-- The Nation 2011-07-13

[Terry1971]

I rarely post on here, but I have to say that was a dam_n good opinion piece. If you take the "Thai politics" aspect of it away, it could apply to just about any country in the world.

[edgarfriendly]

Very well done!

Love may win them elections, but fear and hatred are their insurance policies.

They give us a "noble" cause that is never there but, if pursued, will gradually take away all the things that are real in our lives.

It's their only method, but they don't need anything else because this one works every time.

ef :jap:

Mind Control

Edited July 13, 2011 by edgarfriendly

[Britannia]

Real insight in to the truth, lovely thank you