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One of the biggest challenges in politics these days is determining how to bring everyone back to the pressing realities facing the country. While newspaper headlines over the weekend still focused on the political impasse and a dozen proposed solutions, it was easy for one "routine" report from the deep South to escape majority attention. According to the Fourth Army Region, video clips have surfaced depicting Muslim children as young as five and six doing certain kinds of disciplinary "exercises". If the political fighting continues, it could be just a matter of time before some of these youngsters become involved in one way or another in bigger news.

The footage acquired by the Fourth Army Region only adds to a loud cry for bickering political factions to really think about what truly matters. Our nation has practically been left unattended, with the mechanisms that are supposed to tackle problems becoming a bigger problem themselves. Things have gone from turmoil to a crisis and now to a farce. As we shook our heads on seeing Chalerm Yoobamrung appointed interior minister, a key position as far as the deep South is concerned, and struggled to comprehend his latest appointment as public-health minister, we may have been too jaded to realise that such ridiculous developments were just the tip of the iceberg.

Responsibility for the economy has been passed around for many years now. Education reforms must have been all but forgotten. How far behind other countries we have fallen when it comes to scientific developments in this brave new world nobody really knows. The best news we've had has been the achievements of our athletes at the Olympics and some youngsters' successes in international contests. As the whole planet gets excited about the latest telecom innovations and new media, our IT evolution has been smeared by vested interests and political scandals.

We need to really talk. The ball is in the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) court now to respond to the new prime minister's offer of an olive branch. The PAD has observed its civic responsibility, but the problems in this country have gone far beyond the mere issue of a corrupt government. The nation is seriously divided down the middle, and whereas the PAD insists there is nothing a new, good system cannot fix, nobody knows for sure whether Thailand's predicament is down to a malfunctioning structure or straightforward human flaws.

It's one thing to take to the streets to oust alleged crooks, and it's another to seize Government House to demand political reform. If the PAD blames Thaksin Shinawatra for a bad electoral system with unbalanced representation, it's time to change the strategy. Confrontation and aggression can never bring about true reform, because it will always be the winners who lay down the rules. The PAD needs to take a step back, so that a real process of reform can be started and go forward.

The PAD's mission may not be over yet, but the justification for extremism is no longer there, if it ever was. The movement's wish for judicial intervention in cases that were impossible even to initiate during the Thaksin era has been granted, and the courts do not seem to be swayed by whoever is in or behind the government. Perhaps, if the PAD trusts the reinvigorated judiciary to do its job, the current system may not need much reforming after all.

Whether or not Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat is sincere about holding talks, the PAD should grab the opportunity presented by his public commitment to end the stand-off. Chamlong Srimuang, a PAD leader, fought side by side with Deputy Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh against a military-backed government prior to the 1992 bloodbath, so maybe the estranged friends can lay the groundwork for real negotiations. At least both men must have learned a lesson that no ideology holds sway in politics and there's a thin line between friend and foe.

This is the time for everyone to reset their priorities. In three weeks, the PAD's initial goal of having corruption charges against Thaksin decided by the courts will be fulfilled. What should be next for the political movement? Yes, reform to prevent a repetition of the current mess will be welcome, but how and when this reform should come about should not be determined by an ideology alone. Realities, in the deep South or on the economic front, are screaming for our long-overdue attention. They must be heard, before it's too late.