Allow me to be rather blunt; in most parts of contemporary Europe this would be perhaps called Stalinist or Nazi propaganda (sometimes it is sort of difficult not to mix those two up), in Thailand though this is a different matter, due to Thai uniqueness and sensitivity. In short, we should be more welcoming here, as Thailand, once again, shows us there IS a Thai way of doing things.

Just wish you were right, Trep... It`s interesting you mentioned US in this context... In civilised parts of Europe nationalism is seen as something profoundly negative and patriotism is rather subdued... surely, the connotations here can be interpreted differently in different parts of world, and that`s probably why national anthem singing to promote patriotism and unity sounds absolutely innocuous to most of Thais.

Is it really a uniquely Thai way of doing things? Whose idea was it? Did it come from below or was it imposed from above? What happens when a Thai (or farang for that matter) can't or doesn't want to stop what they are doing on the dot of 6 pm?

Listen to Thais who say: "This kind of thing is all very well but it doesn't do anything for me, it doesn't make me feel any different because ultimately it doesn't change anything."

Obligatory?
Nah, just like standing in theaters during the royal anthem is not obligatory - it's just a real good idea!
Neighbors have not yet been given binoculars to spy on one another and take photos, but when we recall Nazis, N. Korea and Burma, this stuff is hardly off the mark.
It is hardly a uniquely Thai exercise.
Historians have written much about this kind of social malaise, but most of those accounts are blacklisted in Thailand. Need to say more?

Of course it is not obligatory by the force of law maybe, but men are weak, nobody wants to stand alone while all others go singing, so they will follow suit. It will surely end like this: “Ohh, you do not sing along with us? Don’t you love Thailand? Aren’t you Thai? You must be a communist, right? Hey everybody, there is a red shirt/communist/traitor/whatever, let’s go and stone him!”

Yeah, Trep remembered right, kissing the wife before leaving home was introduced by the Phibul government. But one cannot compare these two measures at all. Kissing at home was something the government could not control at all, unlike wearing hats and gloves in public places, something that was decreed by Phibul as well. I think wearing a hat is a good idea in a climate that hot, but people still remember they were forced to wear them whenever they see an ordinary hat somewhere. (It was necessary to wait until the subtle force of Yankee fashion decreed wearing baseball caps as headgear to protect Thai brains from the widespread sunstroke.)

All this is just another manoeuvre to sweep the mess under the carpet instead of cleaning up. Sometimes I wonder if those politicians really believe that the problems of Thailand are just mental problems, which ought to be solved simply by congesting media outlets with patriotic nonsense and brainwashing.

Mr. Trep, just a humble advice: You should bring the house in order before painting the wallpapers anew. Unless the fundamental problems of poverty, injustice and corruption are not coped with, no social engineering of whatever kind will work at all. Social conditions determine consciousness, not the way around – whatever they say.

What´s new in this campaign? Thailand has had a law to obligate her citizens to show proper respect to the national anthem and the flag for long time.

Natiz? Give me a break. For example, this kind of attitude of security force is a dengaerous sign of a government.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/154796/chinese-authorities-assault-journalists

This incident in China is a little similar to that of SS, but it´s still far cry from what Natiz did.

The ludicrous absurdity of this minister, Sathit is, indeed, thickening.
Can anyone believe that by simply singing the national anthem will put the ongoing political rift to an end? On what ground does this idea come from? Didn't you guys remember the infamous incident of a PAD guy hitting a policeman with a flagpole during the Oct 7 last year? Wasn't it one of a kind of expressing one's patriotism? How on earth can patriotism alleviate political conflicts?

I wonder how far will this ludicrousness go?

Doctor J, singing national anthem together brings people to experience powerful emotions and memories, like school days and the feeling of unity, security and peace.

Yes, it is manipulation and perhaps even brainwashing, but it works like a charm, just like kissing your wife works on your relationship better than not kissing her.

Jrd, yes, most of Thailand's problems are mental ones - they are not fighting over poverty, injustice, or corruption. Those are the issues they are united against.

Never mind, it will all go away pretty soon, when Thaksin gives up his struggle and reds would realize that they and yellows have common enemies, enemies that used divide and conquer strategy to keep them fighting each other instead.

But i hope a Thai reading of Walden wont lead to another cult..it seems Thai society does not appreciate individual interpretation of things but prefers cult or mob mentality more.. Uni activities also tend to promote grp/peer-oriented mentality. Individualism does not necessarily lead to selfishness.

Just wondering, are people in red shirts allowed to sing along?

"Never mind, it will all go away pretty soon, when Thaksin gives up his struggle and reds would realize that they and yellows have common enemies, enemies that used divide and conquer strategy to keep them fighting each other instead."

Yes, like those Cambodians enroaching on Thai temples. Too bad that those people living at the border "don't understand Thai way" as was quoted said by the PAD representatives over the weekend.

Atleast I am happy to realise that it is not only foreigners who do not understand Thailand, it is also other Thai people who do not understand Thai ways!

5555

Common enemies - power hungry and self-serving political leaders.

If Thais solve the problems with their leadership, then dealing with poverty, injustice, and corruption will be a lot easier.

The injustice and corruption are themselves attributes of poor governance in the first place.

Problems with the temple are not the main issue for PAD. Note that none of the five leaders bothered to go there, and Chamlong said he can't answer any questions about it, even if they backed up Veera Somkwamkid's cause eventually.

Doctor J: Its just the sort of dumb, dangerous & irresponsible thing PAD is known for, and for which they have obviously been granted impunity (from a higher authority).

Editors or other posters: One hour ago, when I clicked the prachtai's English site icon, the windows started coming out endlessly. And whenever I cloased a window, it's automatically comining up again. What could this be? Last time when the same phonemenon took place, I found that a tip of melted chocolate I was eating sticked the shift key to the bottom in my keyboard, so this must be the reason to cause this dysfunction. But this time, it must not be the case. It happened in succession only when I tried to access Prachatai's English site and I had to close my computer to stop this each time.

Yes, I had a similar problem a few times when in Thailand - but not sure if it was on the Prachatai site or not (cannot recall).
From reading other forums I get the impression that MICT is playing around a lot with peoples computers, but as I'm not into computer tech stuff it all goes way over my head.

to Prachatai: Is it possible to make a donation via Paypal or Credit Card?
(becoming a member, filling out forms, transferring money/cheques seems just a little too difficult for this lazy sod)

prachatai used to allow donation via penpal and credit card. not sure if they are still available now.