The Thai Coup

[kandrathe]

I've been following the bloodless September 19 coup in Bangkok (somewhat disappointed the troops never used Pirate-speak during the operation) closely— well, as closely as a guy without TV news can follow it. From what I've garnered about the situation and the circumstances, the seeds of despotism just got trampled over before they could irrevocably take root in the nation. We have here a PM who used his personal wealth and business influence to sow cronies throughout the national infrastructure and gather hold threads of power that threatened not only the democratic process attempting to take hold in the kingdom, but contested the popular influence of the king himself.

The coup and preliminary plans for power are not troubling me. What I do find vexing is the statements of dyed-in-the-wool democracies condemning the action as an affront to democracy. Especially poignant is the view taken by the U.S. Government— it only reminds me of just how far away we Americans have drifted from the memory of our Revolutionary heritage. A nation that was born out of socking it to The Man has become so comfortable in the mantle of power that it no longer recognizes where democracy ends and despotism begins. More upset by the shifting of the board than recognizing just what pieces are being moved.

What such critics have failed to see past are the superficial labels of "democratically-elected Prime Minister"; "the military"; and "the King" into what was going on in Thailand. What many see as the overthrow of a democratic government, I see instead is a bastard cousin to a bona fide democratic revolution. Things were so broken, or about to break, that drastic action was taken in order to stop this freight train before it derailed into something bloodier than it already was.

The only uncertainty I hold is the one where we wait and see if Cincinnatus still has a place in the 21st Century.

Yeah, I agree with you. Thailands corrupt PM had to go. It was still too bad it was as a coup de etat, though. It just sets a pattern (ala Haiti) for what the powerful (military or just a junta) will do in the future if they are displeased with the people in civilian power. I am reminded that Pakistan's emergency coup from 1999 has still not resulted in an election.