OPINION

Cast votes with care

Scandinavian Democrat says it all when he points out what has gone before in Thai politics since 1932 (PostBag, Nov 10). I hope for reform but there is no will to see it happen in a fair way. Thailand swaps one corrupt government for another year after year, be they ex-army or "democratic" candidates, it matters not.

In-depth scrutiny of candidates' qualifications for office might help but I fear things are beyond that now. Voters must try to recognise any underling agenda they might have whatever promises they declare. Those offering bribes and gifts must be suspect and discarded.

Real democracy is hard fought for and easily lost to the unscrupulous. Don't sell your vote, cast it with care for your children and their children.

While studying in the US Deep South, I was a picket captain opposing then-legal racial segregation. We were very successful -- and hopefully Thais on both sides of our divide can learn from our experience:

(a) We always kept our goal in mind: to win the hearts and minds of voters -- not to ram change down their throats. We wanted not just change -- but lasting change.

(b) We always gave our opponents and others the same equal rights we claimed for ourselves. Thus, anybody was free to cross our picket line -- we kept six feet between each picket so that they could do so easily. We marched silently, so schools, shops, etc. next to the eatery being picketed could operate normally.

(c) We worked closely with the police so that we kept strictly within the law, e.g., marching only on public property; one cop sufficed to keep the peace.

(d) We kept in mind that our opponents were not our enemies, and treated them with respect -- their support was vital to our success.

(e) We used innovative ideas to get our ideas across, e.g., we took out a full-page newspaper ad listing names of faculty members who supported our cause, by department -- with their permission and paid for by the professors themselves. Or, for one day, we had a reverse boycott: we asked those of the general public who supported equal rights to come eat at the place we were picketing. The line stretched around the block, and the eatery couldn't wash its dishes fast enough.

We made our point, won over every heart and mind -- and helped our national cause to win in Congress.

I humbly suggest that if today's protesters and counter-protesters followed the above suggestions, they'd be more successful.

Re: "A fine voting system", (PostBag, Nov 10).

While the original intent of the electoral vote was to give the citizens of the United States an executive who would have to recognise and in turn be recognised by all of them, the nature of the office has changed since those earlier days. It has been noted that the executive branch of the American government has grown increasingly powerful in proportion to the other two, while the United States has also grown in power since its inception to the point that the president is considered the most powerful individual in the world.

Because of these factors, one must consider how such an office must be handled in terms of who is elected to it.