I was wondering about the origins of the saying “May you live in interesting times”. Google pointed me to a 1966 speech given by US Senator Robert F. Kennedy in which he said: "There is a Chinese curse which says, "May he live in interesting times." Like it or not, we live in interesting times..." A curse, yikes!
Hold on a minute though… didn’t Robert’s brother, former US president JF Kennedy, also once tell a crowd of Germans (in German) that he was a jelly donut? I decided to dig deeper. Good job I did. There is no evidence linking this curse to the Chinese, who were, on the other hand, quite happy to own up to the proverb: “It's better to be a dog in a peaceful time than be a man in a chaotic period.”
Further research revealed I was actually dealing with more than just a simple curse. “May you live in interesting times” it turns out, is like the Lord of the Rings of all curses; part of a trilogy:
1. May you live in interesting times. [As discussed] 2. May you come to the attention of those in authority. [Scary] 3. May you find what you are looking for. [Said with a smile as someone heads towards self-destruction.]
“May you live in interesting times” was going through my head as I joined the millions of others who switched on the TV on May 30 to watch the nine member Constitutional Tribunal give its final verdict in the electoral fraud cases of five political parties, most notably the countries oldest political party, the 60-year-old Democrat Party and the relative newcomer but former ruling party TRT. I tried to forget about the curse.
The political soap opera had lathered itself into quite a bubble bath by judgement day but it would be a long soak before the political system would get the refreshing shower it so badly needed. The judges had all done their homework and they were tough as they took it in turns to read out their statements. While some were better sight-readers than others, it still went on and on.
In fact, it went on for so long it became about as interesting as a Yakul lady’s menu. The only break from the boredom was watching the defendants, especially those that couldn’t stay still for more than a minute, fidgeting like schoolboys caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
It was only when the editor assigned me the task of simplifying this whole BIG story for our darling NJ readers that I remembered the curse. To shake this ill omen, I’ll attempt the impossible and condense the background, allegations, denials, verdicts and outcomes of this historical day in Thai politics onto just two pages. Read on…
