If only he had been this fierce and vehement back in 2001, when the Constitution's "spirit", something he mentioned so many times during Monday night's interview with television host Sorayuth Suthasanachinda, was mocked and trampled upon beyond belief. When the Constitution Court let Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra off the hook despite damning evidence in his assets-concealment scandal, the charter that Chaturon now defends lost all of its authority and sacredness. Sad but true.

And it's more tragic because this is our best Constitution ever. It is what we bought with the blood and tears, indeed the lives, of the 1992 pro-democracy heroes and their relatives. Despite Chaturon's apparent show of passion, the charter deserves more from him. It deserves more from people like Thirayuth Boonmi, who once suggested "Monster Thaksin" was created by this charter. And it's crying out for people like Anand Panyarachun, one of the "founding fathers" so to speak, to come forward and defend its worth.

What's wrong with this Constitution? Nothing. But a lot is seriously wrong with all of us in regard to this "People's Charter". We have failed to hold it in the highest esteem. Despite the euphoria that greeted its promulgation in 1997, we have failed to make the Constitution part of our national soul. If we had succeeded in doing that, there would have been no need to debate now whether or how we could have a royally appointed prime minister to replace Thaksin Shinawatra. There would haven been no election boycott. And the politicians would not have been allowed to invoke "political reform" simply for the sake of their own survival.

We selectively cherish and foster bits and pieces of this Constitution. People love those clauses that suit them and denounce others that work against their interests. Worse still, we blame the consequences of our failure to be committed to this charter entirely on the document itself. This Constitution did not create someone like Thaksin. We did. We who had neither the courage nor the determination to walk the new path it paved for us.

We have failed to defend its true value, and "political reform" has become a cheap form of lip service to be paid while playing political games. This Constitution already provided everything we could possibly need. It enshrines a strong recognition of citizens' rights, with mechanisms prescribed to support enforcement. It provided for a new system to monitor, investigate and punish corrupt officials and politicians. Checks and balances under this charter were supposed to be our best ever. Our first elected Senate was meant to be a chamber of independent and forward-thinking minds.

When Thaksin and his wife were found to have stashed Bt10 billion worth of shares in his servants' accounts, this Constitution was screaming, "STOP HIM!" Its writers, headed by respected figures that included Anand, had anticipated something like this, so they put in place tough restrictions on politicians' involvement in business and stipulated punishments for anyone lying about what they owned. The mechanisms were there to put Thaksin away, but in the end, his landslide election victory interfered with the nation's conscience, and the rest is history.

If this Constitution cannot contain Thaksin or clean up Thai politics, making it transparent and accountable, then no charter can. We could not have imagined a better system of checks and balances. Of course, some minor changes could be made, like empowering a small opposition bloc to censure the prime minister, but we are the real problem.

What a shameful travesty of justice it is, to blame such an excellent charter, albeit one that has found itself undermined by the corrupt nature of politicians and society's lack of courage, for the very existence of corruption. Our problem is that we always expect our Constitution to give, while we hardly contribute to it. A constitution, in its most ideal sense, is nothing but common values for which we should all be willing to die to protect, so that we can move confidently down the promising path it points us towards. And if we cannot protect something this valuable better than we have to date, then don't bother searching for something more, because we will become lost again and again, and yet again.

Tulsathit Taptim