Seven decades passed during King Bhumibol Adulyadej's reign. That made him the longest reigning monarch in history. During that time, it is arguable he also became the most loved monarch.
On October 13th, at around 7 p.m., Thailand got the news that their beloved king had passed away.
There is no sound when a heart breaks, but if there were, that is all you would have heard that day.
The King dying was not about politics -- in fact, the way the Thai people viewed him largely had nothing to do with his politics at all.
He was the father to a nation, the guiding light in a time of great darkness.
When a nation of people stood unsure of their future, he was there to tell them it was going to be alright, and then he spent his entire life making sure it actually was.
It is no secret that Thailand’s history is littered with turmoil, and their political warfare is not an example any Western world would use as their guide. But there is no denying that tremendous progress was made during King Bhumibol Adylyadej’s reign.
As an American, I will probably never understand the loyalty that the Thai people feel for the King. Our leaders in America are not in office for as long as he was, and our politics are just too different to compare.
However, being able to witness the current state of affairs in Thailand has been an indescribable experience.
An entire nation has halted everything to simply mourn.
In America, when you lose a loved one, you sometimes don’t even take a single day off; Thailand will be grieving for an entire year. Celebratory events will be cancelled -- festivals, concerts, parties -- all to grieve the loss of one man.
There are wavering opinions about the reality of cancelling events that bring in large amounts of revenue to the country, especially a country whose biggest source of income is tourism. But putting all of that aside, it is incredibly beautiful to witness such unity, even if it is tragedy that brought it about.
There is something to be said for the way that the nation has come together simply to be sad. There is no political agenda, economic struggle, or monetary pursuit that is more important than simply being together and grieving.
An entire nation standing as one simply trying to heal, attempting to recreate Thailand’s identity now that the person who is responsible for creating a lot of it is gone. The sole priority is to simply respect the King, and let go of him without losing all that he did.
I think it is important to not focus solely on the grief that everyone in Thailand is facing, and and begin to try to imagine a world where we are able to put aside all of our differences and instead band together using the things that make us similar.
