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Bewildered by myopia, we have forgotten and abandoned the very person who embodies the virtues that have made our nation unique: His Majesty. Many proclaim their unconditional love for and loyalty to him, but if unmatched by deeds, these are just empty words. Some are doing hideous and damaging things to the country by expeditiously invoking his good name, exploiting it to the hilt for gains that have nothing to do with him or the greater good of the country to which he has devoted his life. Many have become more open and fearless about denigrating him as the root of all the ills of our society and politics. They are the Ku Klux Klan of Thai society. They are losers, embittered by their own insecurities and failure, angered by their own low self-image and esteem, and driven by the desperate need to blame someone else for their own imperfections and problems, because they are too afraid to admit them.

It saddens me to see such exploitation. It incenses me to hear the shameless unfounded accusations. It enrages me to read false entries about His Majesty on websites - which are the handiwork of those who claim to be intellectuals; some Thai, some foreign - that repeat conspiracy theories about royal interference that has made our politics and democracy as dysfunctional as it is today.

It is always sexy for these "wise men" to be contrarian, to say something provocative for the sake of being so, to be "radical' even though there is no trace of this in their lifestyle. They like to hide their true colours under the self-glorified cloak of "righteousness". They have never proved their assumptions or theories, and have no real compunction to do so. It is too much work, and they are afraid they may find out they are wrong. To these people, I ask them to recount any concrete and worthy contributions they have made to Thai society other than to make waves. To them, I want to say, if they are so unhappy with the makeup of Thai society and politics, they can just leave.

Now, people are calling for and waiting for His Majesty's intervention. The Economist magazine contends it is only him that can put a stop to the unending and ever-expanding rifts in Thai society. These selfish and irresponsible demands are exactly the reason we are where we are today. If we are not willing to lift our fingers and put our heads together to clean up the mess we created ourselves, there will be no silver lining. And we deserve to be condemned to live our nightmare in perpetuity.

Throughout his reign, His Majesty has lived a life that should set an example for us all. Unfortunately, it seems we have failed to learn from that example. His Majesty has kept the pledge he made to the nation in his first remarks on the throne; it is us who have failed to keep our end of the bargain.

As a constitutional monarch, His Majesty has no real political and legal recourse to change the path of the country. His power, however, is derived from the hard work he has done for the people. He could have led an easy life (in fact that's what the government at that time told him to do), but he did not. He does not have to care about his people, or devote his time and energy thinking, planning, initiating project after project to bring sustainable development for the country. He does not have to live a life that exemplifies what he preaches: self-reliance, dignity, decency, honesty, integrity and magnanimity. But he has chosen to do all those things. He never calls himself righteous, despite the fact that his is a life based on that very principle. He even tries to make us realise that making mistakes is part of being human.

It is not true that the King can do no wrong, he told us one December during his address to the nation. The key, he has taught us, is that we must learn from our mistakes, correct them and move on. He shows us time and again the sanctity of our lives, no matter who we are. He appealed to our conscience by reminding the powers-that- be (at the height of the extra-judicial killing spree by the then government) that if only one innocent life was lost, it was one life too many.

He has trodden this land far and wide, gone the extra mile to be with the poorest of the poor, the forgotten. He has tried to offer them a better life by giving them the tools and skills to get there - not by giving them freebies that create a tin-cup syndrome and other moral hazards. He has done all this with one motive: the love for his people and his country. And the people love him in return. But that is all that we do. We do not learn from him. We do not try to be a better people as a way of showing our appreciation, and to honour his work and his legacy.

So if we want to end this senseless fighting and self-destruction, we should start thinking about the pain His Majesty must feel seeing us slug it out like thugs. We must take a good look at ourselves and see what we have become and feel the shame. We must realise that we owe it to His Majesty as well as to ourselves and our children to put an end to disagreements peacefully - for there is no such thing as the last war. As Ronald Reagan liked to say: "Let's win one for the Gipper." If anything, let's do this one for His Majesty. He deserves the best from all of us, because he has given us the best of himself.