FACT - Freedom Against Censorship Thailand

[FACT comments: More bureaucrat mindlessness. If one loves Thailand, one does so without having to show off to anyone. Loving Thailand does not mean blind loyalty to its government of the day.]

For the love of one’s country
PLOENPOTE ATTHAKOR
Bangkok Post: May 14, 2008

http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/14May2008_news23.php

It is back-to-school time and as several hundred thousand students are busily preparing for the new semester, they may have little, if any idea, about a new plan to instil more patriotism in them…That particular plan, which will require all schools to play the national anthem at the flag-hoisting ceremony at 8am and 6pm sharp, comes from Yuranand Pamorn-montri, a People Power party politician who now serves as adviser to the Education Minister…Obviously the actor-turned-politician is not happy with the fact that some city schools have opted to delay the timing of the ceremony to 8:15am (with many others slotting it for 8:30am) theoretically to avoid traffic problems. He says such delays prevent students from properly expressing their patriotism…In his opinion, the best time to show one’s patriotism by standing in line for the anthem song is at 8am and 6pm sharp, and the show of patriotism would be even stronger if all the schools played the anthem simultaneously…In fact, he thinks such feelings must be reinforced (twice) the same time every day. This is the way, he further adds, to make students think more of the nation…Mr Yuranand is not the first politician who wants to boost patriotism through the anthem and flag rite. Mr Yuranand’s plan reminds us of a move by a group of NLA members (mostly with military background) who came up with the controversial idea to have all vehicles on the roads stop at the same flag-anthem time. Mr Yuranand and the NLA people share the same thought: that standing up for the national anthem when the flag is raised is the proper way to show one’s love for the nation. Like it or not, this has been the practice in Thailand and some others countries in this region…Initially, I just can’t help but doubt his theory that links the national anthem with patriotism. Besides, I don’t think children (and adults, too) who are stuck in traffic can really think of the nation at that particular time…But what if Mr Yuranand is right? What if one’s patriotism really has something to do with one’s listening to the national anthem and seeing the national flag fly up the pole?…In that case, I think the very place where such a rite is badly needed would be none other than Parliament. And yes, Mr Yuranand should see to it that his fellow politicians come outside the parliament building and form a line in front of the flagpole to observe the rite daily at 8am. Don’t forget to have them sing the national anthem out loud, too…Mr Yuranand must see to it that no one is excused from this flag-anthem rite. Regularly enforced, the practice might help certain politicians to realise their duty to serve the nation and eventually behave.
…For the love of the nation, some politicians might voluntarily correct their actions and serve as a model for our children.