"Without any of these things you have conflict, you lose trust," said Kay J Maxwell, president of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS), a leading non-partisan civic group. She is visiting Bangkok this week to talk about issues of good governance.

Functional public hearings were an essential part of ensuring good governance, Maxwell said. The remark led to some confusion among students at Thammasat University attending the talk, as they recalled the problematic Thai-Malaysia gas-pipeline public hearing in 2000.

"So, was it a proper public hearing?" Maxwell asked students on learning about the controversial process that led to violent clashes in Songkhla province

Patchalee Sirorot, a political scientist at Thammasat University, said that since the controversial hearing in 2000, the Thai government had used workshops, websites and help from universities to conduct a new public hearing process. But she acknowledged that the Thai state was still in charge of the process.

When asked about whether people have the right to shout during anti-government protests in the US, Maxwell said it's perfectly legal - as long as it's peaceful.

"You can shout as loud as you want. I participated in demonstrations and I shouted. But it is not the only way to get your voice heard."

Maxwell expressed her concerns about the need for citizens to take an active participation in politics, saying without it there can be no democracy.

"Citizens need to educate themselves. And it's hard work. It's easy not to bother, not to pay any attention, but if citizens don't pay attention, don't learn about the issues and talk with the government, that's when bad things occur," she said.

"You don't have to be an expert on an issue to make your voice heard. Experts are important but experts don't always make the right decision. We [at The League] represent the average viewpoint. We have a viewpoint about things because they have importance. We make our voice heard. I urge you to get as involved as you can. I think it's safe to say that no government official is smarter than us."

She warned that it would be that democracy was not a spectator sport. "We all have to get out there," she said, noting that not enough Americans were participating either.

One particular group not sufficiently involved in US politics was the 18-30 year-old bracket and this had become a challenge for LWVUS and other civic groups. "Our young people today don't know as much about how government works. The 18-30 bracket are the least likely [group] to vote. And that's not healthy."

The League tried to redress the issue by involving the World Wrestling Entertainment to help boost youth interest and involvement in politics during the 2004 presidential election.

Information gathered from research and surveys showed that the group was concerned about four election related issues: the economy, the war on Iraq, national security, and education.

Surveys discovered that the creation of well-paying jobs were the top issue for youths. Some 30 per cent of young adults were uninsured found saving for emergencies difficult, if not impossible. As for education, access to affordable college and higher education had become a challenge with the debt burden rising, especially for graduate education.

Maxwell said the younger generation tended to get news and information from the Internet rather than newspapers, and one negative repercussion was they tend to read only what they want to read. "They miss out on a broad range of things," she said.

Although the League is closely associated with women, the group has admitted men as members since the mid-1970s. Maxwell said although one day women would eventually be elected as president, she did not women were not necessarily more morally upright.

"Women bring a different perspective but I would not pretend that women are necessarily better."

Pravit Rojanaphruk,

Subhatra Bhimiprabhas

The Nation