The Wisdom of Douglas

(Himself [tall guy] does obligatory tank pose along with his boss [less tall guy] and boss's driver, Khun Suprien [guy in blue shirt]. They were disappointed to miss out on the dancing camouflage-clad damsels!)

I bumped into this kernel of wisdom last night:

"The major problem -- one of the major problems, for there are several -- one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.

To summarise: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarise the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarise the summary of the summary: people are a problem.

And so this is the situation we find: a succession of Galactic Presidents who so much enjoy the fun and palaver of being in power that they very rarely notice that they're not.

And somewhere in the shadows behind them -- who?

Who can possibly rule if no one who wants to do it can be allowed to?"

Huh. A timeless passage, n'est-ce pas?

Actually I should say that this excerpt bumped into me, because I've been reading a bit of "The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" before going to sleep every night for the past few weeks. It's called "Ultimate" because this hardbacked tome comprises Douglas Adams's entire series of fantastic science fiction-meets-political-satire-meets-social-commentary-meets-sheer-comedy in 832 very heavy pages.

Despite loving every line of this literary gem, I occasionally start to nod off mid-read, in which case the anvil-like book drops -- smack! -- onto my face, thereby scaring the tar out of me and restoring a state of utter alertness. Oh, well, then I just read a little bit longer until feeling sleepy again; after all, who could rest without knowing if -- nay, how Ford and Arthur are going to outwit the natives of Golgafrincham?!

(BEM visitors who prefer parenting stories, recipes, life-in-Thailand tales, etc., will see their patience rewarded with imminent posts on chocolate cake, the new airport, and moving here with kitties in tow.)

Comments

[Michelle]

Hope things are fine there after all the news we've been hearing from your neck of the woods. A "peaceful" coup seems to be an oxymoron.

[The Girl]

Hey there - Woah! I definitely was thinking of you these past two weeks. We first heard the news in a tiny guesthouse in Uganda, on the even number day which we actually have electricity. I thought CNN had been hijacked by John Stewart, but after watching the play by play over and over (such is the regurgitated goodness that is CNN International) I accepted the bizarre truth.

I can't imagine what it's like living in the midst of a coup, but I find it very funny that all the photos that seem to have emerged from the event involve small children (usually blond) perched on top of tanks. Has Thailand lost it completely?

Maybe there is hope for Pillsbury yet!

[Reader for Democratic Reform (formerly "Caretaker Reader")]

If you can't find a relevant quote in THHGTTG, try Python.

I find it mildly bizarre that more people get shot in Thailand during a democratic general election than during a military coup.

[Nico]

When voting, we should have 2 squares to tick:

1) The one we would love as a president
2) The one we would hate as a president

If the gap is too sharp (as many "love" than "hate" votes) this person might loose his chance against someone with less "love" but also "less" hate.

This method could help solving the "The peolpe who want to do it should not be allowed to do it" problem.

Your blog is nice mom. Keep going. And if you don't mind I would be happy having you in my bloglist.