On assignment from Thailand

Yesterday, a group of 40 people from various countries boarded a speed boat from Phuket, Thailand en route to Phi Phi Don Island, Thailand. The trip out should only have taken about 45 minutes, but because of the water conditions, it ended up taking twice as long. In this part of the world, it is monsoon season from May to October. The severe weather conditions are common all across the Andaman Sea, as well as other bodies of water in the vicinity. At the same time that we boarded our boat, at least four other boats with similar numbers of passengers did likewise. Then several hours later, the cycle began again.

Several of us in the front part of the boat (where our spines and tailbones were most at risk), remarked that if we tried going out on the water in similar conditions to the ones we were in, but it were in America or Australia... it would not be permitted. There is no chance that a tour company from the U.S. or from any of the "civilized" nations of the world would take people out there.

Since arriving here last week, I have discussed socio-political circumstances with British and Australian citizens and about how things are in those countries. It is the same everywhere. In Britain, the song Baa, Baa Black Sheep has been banned, because it contains the word "black". The officially recognized version is now Baa, Baa Rainbow Sheep. Additionally, the idea of "Brainstorming" is also a thing of the past. Jackie, a hospitality manager and English and German teacher here on the island had been the director of a group for at-risk youth in England before heading to Thailand. She recounted to me an experience she had at a council meeting for leaders of a youth group alliance. Jackie had suggested a brainstorming session. At the very moment she said the word brainstorm, several members of the company gasped and told her to find a better word. Brainstorming can be offensive to people who have sporadic mental disorders like Tourette's.

It seems to be en vogue for well-connected geniuses in society to find as many ways as possible to take offense on behalf of other people. Look at the college mascot issue the NCAA went through a couple years back. Non-Native-American organizations determined that certain mascots ought to be banned because of their hostile and negative connotations against particular tribes. The Florida State Seminoles and the Runnin' Utes of the University of Utah were two of the so-called hostile mascots. The Ute Tribe countered by requesting that the school make the Ute mascot permanent. The tribal leader expressed how it has always been a source of tribal pride to know that their heritage and culture had a small spotlight on them whenever the Runnin' Utes took to the floor or the field.

Now back to the boat situation from yesterday. Up at the front of the boat, between violent crashes against the waves, our group, made up of six Australians and three Americans observed that sophisticated societies tend to gather their wealth of experiences and knowledge to minimize the number of risks one can take. Whether it is from individual-outward law suits or top-down regulation, freedom and liberty suffer each time litigation or legislation attempt to protect the citizens of the country or region in which the measure is being enacted.* (See asterisk two paragraphs below as a follow up to any concerns the previous sentence may introduce.)

Sure, yesterday's boat tour lead to some discomfort in our backs and posteriors, but it was well worth it. We saw beautiful places we would otherwise never see, did exciting things we could only do in a very few other places on Earth and we got to know people from other countries who were loving and experiencing the same things along with us. There was even a woman from Australia who must have vomited seven or eight times, but she was still smiling whenever we stopped to see a new island.

It is just amazing to see what freedoms people have here that, for safety reasons or fear of a lawsuit, we do not. This is a monarchy and they have freedoms that we never would have guessed one could have--*and the best part? It has not lead to anarchy. There is order here and it works.

I do not know exactly how we can return to the type of freedom and liberty that are enjoyed in simpler societies, but I long for this type of liberation in the United States. It is the type of individual liberty that once dominated our political discourse; it was the driving force behind our policies. Children today can rattle off a list of reasons sue or ways to bully people into doing what they want; threats of court challenges are common. The list is about a mile long. But these same children could not name more than three Founding Fathers. They could not list the reasons the United States became an independent nation. I would also put money on it that they could not explain the reasoning behind our three branches of government. And I would put the deed to my home up if more than 2% of college kids today were familiar with the circumstances surrounding the 17th Amendment, its passing and what it has done to the country.

Bottom line: Our children are being taught by society that they can and should have anything they want. The ideas of personal responsibility, respect and a sense of propriety are not being adequately taught. Our elected officials are the brainchildren of the socialist movement that started around the turn of the last century. And finally, our society is addicted to litigation. If we can right these wrongs, America and her Constitution will be strong as long as those corrections are maintained. Let's start now!