End of an Era
Big, wide room. Dark, no lights. Movie goers shuffled about in the cool air, settling in to their seats. As the theater screen blinked yellow, and the familiar text appeared, everyone scooted off their chairs to stand.
“Please stand up and pay respect to the king’s anthem,” the screen read.
It was second nature, and it wouldn’t and didn’t feel right to watch a movie without first standing for the king’s anthem.
As always, I waited for the familiar images of our king to flash on the screen, accompanied by a soulful, harmonic, version of the King’s anthem. But the first image took me by surprise. I had not seen it before — it was of a baby. A black and white picture of a baby. How uncanny.
The next was an image of a baby and the King.
It then hit. Hard. We have a new king now — the baby was the prince, now the king. As the new images played before me, I stood with confusion and disbelief. It was too sudden, and I was not mentally prepared. The video of the anthem that I had been used to for 20 years had changed. The anthem that I had stood up to with pride and respect was no longer the same. The anthem video that had graced every movie theater was gone.
King Bhumibol had reigned for 70 prosperous years and it was unimaginable how the country would change after his passing. But now, we are living in this new era.
As the song played, I questioned the rush of emotions and feelings that flooded in. I was standing to respect a king who was married thrice — once to his cousin and then mistress. I was standing to respect a king who jetted around the world in his private plane, enjoying luxuries and extravaganzas as his father laid in a hospital bed. I was standing to respect a king who spent his years ensconced in his lavish lifestyle of girls and cars.
Instead of dwelling in a mix of negative and confused emotions to the shift to this new era, I realized what needed to be done was to appreciate all that King Bhumibol has done for his country, for Thailand. Instead of trying to verbalize the myriad of feelings, we should be reminded than human life is finite and that all greatness comes to an end. Let His Majesty’s actions and accomplishments inspire us and remind us to live our life better and continue his resounding legacy of integrity, generosity, and greatness. Revel in the era that once was, and step forward with a similar propensity to make the next era just as great.
