We're unfamiliar w/ the posture of "face in the dirt"
We're independents. We bow to nobody. We do as we please.
We get no fuzzy-wuzzy emotions for monarchs who wear crowns.
We have presidents who wear suits, smiles, basketball shorts.
We like Obama because he comes off as a regular joe. Someone you could watch a football game with. Just one of the boyz.
We can tolerate presidents who we vote in (+ out), with fixed salaries + fixed term lengths.
Kings smack of authority. + we don't do too well with authority figures.
But in Thailand, they adore their king. They have pictures of him in their homes, hung up in mechanic's garages + supermarkets.
They play their national anthem 2x a day, and everybody drops what they're doing, to pay respects to their king. For 2 minutes before every movie, every person in the theater stands in honor of the king.
Disrespecting the king (or his framed photo) is a capital offense that carries up to a 7-year prison term. it rarely happens.
As Americans, we value equality, freedom, and individual rights. We like to put our leaders on our level. We don't wanna bow down to anybody. But I wonder, if there's something this generation has lost by refusing to obey a King.
