Close to the dark edge, how longer can our luck hold?

On second thought, this is such a lame question. People resort to violence all the time to settle apparently absurd differences in opinion, like "Was it a dive or a real penalty?" or "Abortion is murder". And only God knows how many people have died trying to prove whether He does exist or not.

Conflicts are always there. All it takes is a good trigger man. To some, what happened in Udon Thani last week is perhaps proof that we are running out of luck. The country has been facing a mammoth political divide, with hundreds of billions of baht worth of personal and national resources at stake, with the military and its haters always restless, with ideological extremists pushing to achieve their goals once and for all. Maybe it was a miracle we had gone this far without blood being shed.

To others, maybe it wasn't luck alone. Maybe we Thais were called peace lovers for a good reason. Probably, we have learned something from our bitter modern political history. Perhaps October 6 still gives everyone nightmares. Whatever it is, for all the international condemnation and the comparisons with Burma, Thailand managed to contain its biggest political crisis on the streets. There were edgy moments and even boiling points, but we kept on smiling and went about our business.

Whether our luck deserted us or whether we have done the best we can, it was a sad sight all the same - people who looked like relatives or brothers and carrying the same flags attacking each other with intent to harm or even kill. And it is as tragic as it is silly.

Most of all, the incident in Udon Thani has done no justice to the political showdown, making it look like a senseless ideological confrontation instead of painful soul-searching.

Granted, the People's Alliance for Democracy has become more and more of a nuisance, even very provocative at times. But it has strong cause for taking to the streets, has not harmed anyone, and the months and months of aggressive political activism has damaged no public or private properties. The bottom line is, even if the PAD has become a problem, assaulting its supporters will not solve it.

To the "We have done our best" camp, Thailand has come a long way, and despite one setback after another over the past few years, there are signs of maturity. A man who refused to salute the royal anthem was charged, but it could have been much worse 30 years ago. A coup to overthrow an elected leader was followed by a legal process that allowed him to defend himself. A leading politician who had strongly criticised the highest institution didn't spark a riot. Only one death has been associated with the political crisis - the suicide of a man opposed to the coup.

To the "We were just lucky" group, it will happen when the time is ripe. That rival football fans have kept from trouble for three years doesn't mean they will never pick up clubs or rocks ever again if a goal is controversially scored in an important game. It will happen although the fans love the same sport and perform the same ritual of hero worship.

Should someone get killed over whether a goal is offside or legitimate? Should someone get killed for adoring or hating Thaksin Shinawatra? Our ancestors killed to protect their families, or to get food, or to liberate themselves. The Udon Thani mobs have shown how far we have evolved as human beings.

Whether we have been lucky or not, we are approaching the real dark side of politics. Thais maybe getting closer and closer to the line dividing honourable idealism and that slippery slope to hell. We need a true, patriotic leader to stop it now before the seemingly "isolated" case in Udon Thani becomes infectious.

It's easy to say, today, that "No, we will never hurt a man who thinks differently from us". But politics has its own way of manipulating our thoughts and one day it could convince us that it's a noble thing to charge "undemocratic" and unarmed protesters with clubs and knives. Most wars began this way - with everyone fooled into believing that he's fighting for justice, whereas in fact it's just a transition from a man with a cause to a man without one.