The World According to Nick |
My take on Software, Technology, Politics, and anything else I feel like talking about. |
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Democracy is the Goal - Not the SolutionThe Iraqi elections are fast approaching, and everyone is trying to make a statement about the possibility of success in Iraq after Jan. 30th. Will the first real elections in Iraq in years be the beginning of the end for the "insurgency" (aka terrorism) in Iraq? As far as I'm concerned, that's the wrong question to ask. The issue is with the mainstream media's obsessive need for results to be tangible and immediate. I probably shouldn't be so hard on MSM, for the American public is really just as bad in that regard. Jan. 31st will be the critical date in their minds. It will come down to a numbers game. How many people will be killed by terrorists on that day. I don't even think it will matter if the number is somewhat less than on Jan. 29th. If there are any attacks, then Democracy is not being successful there... or so many will claim. In the longer run, people will look at the government created by the Iraqis and judge the success of democracy there by how friendly they are with us. But once again, that's not the point as Ruel Marc Gerecht's book The Islamic Paradox discusses (more at The Belmont Club):
The fact is that once an Iraqi government is in place, the could certainly kick us out. But in reality that's ok. The point is that they will make the decision as an elected people. The French under De Gaul did just that in the 60's... hell, the French in general can't stand us even today despite the fact that we saved their asses in WWII (and WWI for that matter)... yet the Spanish and German's aren't afraid of invasion from the French. Ok, maybe the French as a source of fear is a bad example, but you get the point. The view by many, including the MSM, is that Democracy in Iraq is the solution to the terrorism problem. But not just that... they think that it is one solution of many possible solutions. Having a sadistic dictator in place which squashes all freedom in a country is just as acceptable to them if there is less terrorism because of it. To these people, Democracy is not seen as a worthwhile goal in and of itself. It's simply a means to another end. For an example, look how reporters viewed Saddam's elections several years ago, and contrast that with the current reports of the approaching elections.
Reading the current reports, people fear that if the Sunni's boycott the elections, the entire process will be considered illegitimate. Yet in the United States, our elections are considered very legitimate when only half the eligible population usually votes. In fact, it's considered an exercise in free speech not to vote in America. And if you listen to why some Sunni's are boycotting the election, it seems that they understand free speech than many liberals here in America. Sadly, the only person who seems to really get it... that Democracy is goal in and of itself is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi:
The war according to him is not against the United States or anyone else. The war is with Democracy. He of all people gets it. Now isn't that ironic?
Plenty of people "get" what Zarqawi stated so plainly. It's just that, though a lot agree with him, they're not going to be so forthright.
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As for the need for quick, tangible results: I think that it's a generational thing. Ours and the one before us have been raised in a culture of instant gratification. The speed of diffusion of communications has also fostered a sort of attitude of expectation of quick results. Though our president has on many occasions stated that this would be a long haul and that there would be sacrifice involved, those who have been raised to not know sacrifice, to not know patience, and who have very short memories conveniently forget this. It's frustrating to see these things, as I guess I was taught to believe that anything worth working towards was going to take time, resolve and effort, and that these items seem to be lacking in a lot of people's views (particularly in my part of the country) nowadays. |
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Name: Nick Home: Wauwatosa, WI, United States I'm a Software Consultant in the Milwaukee area. Among various geeky pursuits, I'm also an amateur triathlete, and enjoy rock climbing. I also like to think I'm a political pundit. View My Profile Archives
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