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Democracy: Be careful what you wish for
Mar. 23rd, 2003 02:35 pmhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8222-2003Mar21.html
This article warns you about the potential result of democracy in Iraq. I’ve heard the same argument made about Saudi Arabia. The idea that the US lets such a horrid group of people rule is bizarre to many, until you realize that the more power the Saudis give the people, the more the people give the power to fundamentalist nut-jobs who are by far a greater evil than the royal family.
This isn't the first time I've heard this alarm. The middle-east has this funny habit of electing fundamentalist Islamic fruitcakes to rule them. Like the Dune series, once religious fanatics / clerics are in government, to question them is to question god himself – so their democratically elected leaders become unquestionable, their decisions synonymous with the will of god, and democracy is dead. The lovely folks in the middle-east already hate us, and being a cleric is synonymous with hating the US. The more powerful ones are typically the ones crying for more American blood.
This applies to the US now. To question our president, who is a moron (thank the Canadians for pointing out that nuance), is now an act of treason. To exercise your rights in the form of freedom of speech is unpatriotic, and helps the ‘enemy.’ Once again, like when we passed anti-flag-burning legislation – we have sacrificed the meaning of the symbol to preserve the symbol itself. Fuck the flag – save this country. If anyone fought for a flag they were an idiot. People fought and died for a belief system…but again I digress…
The US wants to bring democracy to Iraq.
Can you imagine what types of people Iraq will elect to power?
A world where they are given the freedom to give up their freedom is a scary prospect, but I can’t think of a better idea. Freedom is one of those things people get used to quickly.
If I sound xenophobic I am not – I don’t fear those ‘scary brown people,’ I fear anyone that is a religious fundamentalist. Trying to go backwards in social evolution is a concept I fight no matter what god people are killing for. I fear exactly the same thing in this country, which is being dominated more and more by the religious right.
This article warns you about the potential result of democracy in Iraq. I’ve heard the same argument made about Saudi Arabia. The idea that the US lets such a horrid group of people rule is bizarre to many, until you realize that the more power the Saudis give the people, the more the people give the power to fundamentalist nut-jobs who are by far a greater evil than the royal family.
This isn't the first time I've heard this alarm. The middle-east has this funny habit of electing fundamentalist Islamic fruitcakes to rule them. Like the Dune series, once religious fanatics / clerics are in government, to question them is to question god himself – so their democratically elected leaders become unquestionable, their decisions synonymous with the will of god, and democracy is dead. The lovely folks in the middle-east already hate us, and being a cleric is synonymous with hating the US. The more powerful ones are typically the ones crying for more American blood.
This applies to the US now. To question our president, who is a moron (thank the Canadians for pointing out that nuance), is now an act of treason. To exercise your rights in the form of freedom of speech is unpatriotic, and helps the ‘enemy.’ Once again, like when we passed anti-flag-burning legislation – we have sacrificed the meaning of the symbol to preserve the symbol itself. Fuck the flag – save this country. If anyone fought for a flag they were an idiot. People fought and died for a belief system…but again I digress…
The US wants to bring democracy to Iraq.
Can you imagine what types of people Iraq will elect to power?
A world where they are given the freedom to give up their freedom is a scary prospect, but I can’t think of a better idea. Freedom is one of those things people get used to quickly.
If I sound xenophobic I am not – I don’t fear those ‘scary brown people,’ I fear anyone that is a religious fundamentalist. Trying to go backwards in social evolution is a concept I fight no matter what god people are killing for. I fear exactly the same thing in this country, which is being dominated more and more by the religious right.
