ChileMass
Active member
dmc said:ChileMass said:dmc said:ChileMass said:The question is - when are we justified in standing up for democracy? At what point do we take the lead in defending the most successful type of government in history? Everyone want freedom and democracy, and this isn't just a re-hash of the old line "inside every gook is an American trying to get out".
Thats a pretty cocky statement..
I'm not sure our version of democracy is for everyone.. I agreed it's awesome.. But...
You know that Iraq will imediatly go into a civil war as soon as we leave..
It's going to be divided into three countries and don't see any problem with that...
I just don't know if democracy will work for every person in the world... Especially trabla based societies...
There are examples such as Jordan, where a consitutional monarchy reports to an elected parliament, more in the British style. Nothing wrong with that at all and a good precedent for other Islamic countries to follow.
We need their oil, they need our technology, medicine and democartic institutions. Our interests are inter-related. We need to help the region enter the 21st century.
Why do they need to enter the 21st century?
Why do they need our democratic institutions?
Why can't they just select the kind of government they want?
what gives us the right to ordain what they need to do?
Every country needs to enter the 21st century because the global economy requires it. Especially the world's 5th-largest oil producer.
The citizens of Iraq want democratic institutions, even if they cannot come out in public and demand them for fear of repercussions. Democracy depends on the rule of law and respect for personal property rights, which must be upheld by laws and courts selected by the people. Instititions such as parliaments, executive offices and courts support these rights.
Democracy has flourished in places thought impossible - China is the obvious example. It can and will work in the Middle East as well.
The terrorists in the Middle East do not want democracy, they want a theocracy based on Islamic law. That would seem to be fine, except for fanatics who interpret the Koran to require shunning or killing non-believers. This is where it breaks down. This is why we have separation of church and state in western democracy. Otherwise, some idiot ultra-right-wing Christian could get elected, enact laws that say kill everyone who's not like us, and we'd be just like the terrorists in Iraq. We are helping these people to see the need for secular democracy and I'm sure they already understand its benefits.