In case you were unaware, Thailand is having their national elections on Sunday, July 3rd. It is compulsory for Thai citizens to vote in their home district (which, apparently, like the decree of Caesar, forces people to return to their hometowns), on pain of losing some of the rights of citizens. As a non-resident of Thailand it is hard to understand the laws, as the Thais are very fond of writing and revising laws, more fond than any national legislature I have ever come across. At any rate, this meant that at our meeting on Monday morning, I gave the trainees a few instructions on what they needed to do to get an excused absence, by providing me with information on: where they were going, when they were leaving, when they were coming back, and what cell phone they could be reached at.

So far, so good, but some of the trainees were looking for financial help to get home to vote. I felt uneasy about this, but was pleased to hear that the very charter of Legacy Institute from the Bureau of Culture forbids Legacy Institute from any involvement in politics. That is a godsend, not only because most of us here at Legacy (myself included) are as interested in staying as far away from involvement in Thai politics as is possible, but also because it protects Legacy from any kind of charges of political bias for or against any side, whatever color of shirt they wear or whatever political party they represent. We are legally forbidden from being a part of Thai politics, which means we are also prevented from spending any resources to support the voting of our trainees, even though that voting is compulsory by law.

Now, given the corruption of Thai politics, where vote buying is so rampant that some people are paid to vote by multiple parties, I would figure that the students or their families either have or will receive money to support one political party or another. Presumably, therefore, these students should be able to afford a trip home and back out of the proceeds of their voting days, especially if they were able to contact the local branch of that political party and explain their predicament. Now, seeing as this sort of corruption is personally abhorrent to me, I would never actually advise someone to do so, nor behave in such a way myself, but the thought did cross my mind that a clever and enterprising and worldly wise person would behave in precisely that fashion. So far only two of our trainees have given me the information required for an excused absence from Sabbath services, and tomorrow is the deadline for missing Sabbath services with permission (and I am not afraid in the least to write demerits). We shall see if any more students provide the necessary information and ask for permission.

The more I think about it, the more Thai politics baffles me. I do not know why the trainees at Legacy never bothered to register to vote in the local area, whether it ever occurred for them to do so, or whether they would be allowed to do so according to Thai law. After all, when I went to college in California, I registered as a voter there, and when I moved back to Florida I registered as a voter there. I’m a reasonably active voter, despite my misgivings as the atmosphere of political partisanship. As is unsurprising, I base my own expectations concerning election law on my experience as an American voter. I know that some of our trainees who were students in a Sunday Thai school in the town of Mae Rim (where I go for groceries and other errands) had to miss classes on Monday afternoon to stand around in Chiang Mai holding up posters encouraging people to vote. The close role between education and politics in this country makes me feel deeply uncomfortable–and I am wholeheartedly glad that I have a strong legal prohibition on being so involved with politics here myself. No legal prohibition could more strongly represent my own fervent desires, despite my own passionate interest in political discussion. I hope the trainees under my care able to square their own moral beliefs with their civic and legal obligation to vote, and I’m glad I am forbidden to be involved in the process in any way whatsoever. It makes life that much less complicated and unpleasant.