On Democracy and What It Is Not
It's been ages since I've posted (primarily because I am writing other more important things) and even longer since it was an "...and What It Is Not" post.
My thoughts on this were triggered by an article my father-in-law had forwarded on to me regarding the political unrest in Egypt and (now) elsewhere in the Arab world, but it really was just a digging up of ideas I've already shared before.
I am concerned for the people of Egypt and elsewhere, that they will have democratically traded a poor ruler for a worse one. Perhaps all will turn out well, and the Egyptians will be able to rest in newfound freedoms. But I fear a repeat of history; this sort of thing has happened before. In Iran, it ended with the new leaders executing the very people who had protested and democratically chosen to put them in power -- tens of thousands of people.
But democracy is not synonymous with freedom, and I fear that people forget or have never considered this.
In this country we almost worship democracy. We live in a culture where it's ok to live any way you like, but how dare you not exercise your right to vote![1]
It is entirely possible to be in bondage under a democracy. The minorities can easily be oppressed. Again, years of history have shown that democracies have not prevented slavery, eugenics, religious oppression, or even genocide. Sure, democracy is great if you are in the majority, but democracy is no guarantee of freedom or of truth[3].
People need good leaders to be free. People can have the courage to take a stand and the passion and zeal to protest, but zeal without knowledge can easily lead to terror in a few years if there is no good leader.
Rather than cheering on the protesters for wanting democracy, we should be hoping they choose the right leaders who will give them freedom.
My thoughts on this were triggered by an article my father-in-law had forwarded on to me regarding the political unrest in Egypt and (now) elsewhere in the Arab world, but it really was just a digging up of ideas I've already shared before.
I am concerned for the people of Egypt and elsewhere, that they will have democratically traded a poor ruler for a worse one. Perhaps all will turn out well, and the Egyptians will be able to rest in newfound freedoms. But I fear a repeat of history; this sort of thing has happened before. In Iran, it ended with the new leaders executing the very people who had protested and democratically chosen to put them in power -- tens of thousands of people.
But democracy is not synonymous with freedom, and I fear that people forget or have never considered this.
In this country we almost worship democracy. We live in a culture where it's ok to live any way you like, but how dare you not exercise your right to vote![1]
It is entirely possible to be in bondage under a democracy. The minorities can easily be oppressed. Again, years of history have shown that democracies have not prevented slavery, eugenics, religious oppression, or even genocide. Sure, democracy is great if you are in the majority, but democracy is no guarantee of freedom or of truth[3].
People need good leaders to be free. People can have the courage to take a stand and the passion and zeal to protest, but zeal without knowledge can easily lead to terror in a few years if there is no good leader.
Rather than cheering on the protesters for wanting democracy, we should be hoping they choose the right leaders who will give them freedom.