Democracy in Iraq
Why is the mainstream media so obsessed with the perceived deteriorating of civil order in Iraq? It seems they are hoping for a civil war to demonstrate how we should not have gone to war with Saddam Hussein. And now I hear people around me echoing the same thing, “Iraq is sliding into a civil war.” And then they say something really silly, “Iraq can never become a democracy because there are too many factions fighting for control. The groups are too different.” Have these people, who are listening and parroting the msm, truly forgotten the past history of the United States.
This county was founded on the principle of democracy. We were told it would never work here: our country was too big, too diverse, too many differences between the groups of people. And yet we made it work. Two hundred and thirty years later, we are still here and still going strong.
Our country is too big was the first excuse. Democracy had never been attempted on a country this size. And yet we used the size of our country to spread out, gather our abundant natural resources, and become the greatest industrial and military power the world has ever seen.
Our country was too diverse, they say. Because our country was so big, this led to sectional difficulties. The North became industrial. The South became agrarian. The North used free labor. The South used slave labor. The North wanted to side with Great Britain in its many wars. The South supported France. The East became more civilized. The West was still a frontier. The country had a diverse range of religions, some hostile to one another (remember the wars brought on during the Protestant Reformation). With all the influx of people, there was no single language or custom. The United States was pulled in several different directions, Mexico from the south, Great Britain from the north in Canado, Spain and France from the west. In spite of these differences the United States banded together to fight great wars for democracy in Europe and around the world. The Grand Experiment became in the words of John Winthrop, a “City upon a Hill,” a beacon for freedom to the oppressed.
The United States became a great country because of democracy. Our founding fathers realized early on that only a representative democracy could work in a country this size and with all these many differences. And they were right, and it worked. Today the United States is a symbol for all those yearning to be free. The United States is a beacon for all those hoping for a better life. So why could this not work in Iraq?
Like the United States, Iraq is sectionalized: one part is Sunni, one part is Shi’a with a mix of others mixed in. One part is industrial and another is still tribal. There are huge differences between the cities and the outlying areas. There are many dialects, religions, and regions: Kurdish, Shi’a, and Sunni. Iraq is pulled by Iran to the east, Syria to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the south, Turkey to the north and occupied by the United States and their Allies. So what will unite this diverse country? There are only two choices: dictatorship (like under Saddam Hussein) or representative democracy.
We know how the dictatorship works: smash all opposition, kill all pretenders, and ruthlessly oppress the free speech of those who oppose you. On the positive side, the country is united.
A representative democracy will allow all groups to have a voice. The country’s many differences would make them stronger. In fact a representative democracy draws strength from the people’s differences. So, instead of sending out suicide-bombers or shooting bullets at each other, the Iraqis will use negotiation and compromise. Having the common purpose of freedom will pull the country together. With a taste of freedom in their mouths, they will fight even harder to keep their rights. Then Iraq will have a great influence on the non-democratic regimes surrounding them, as their people see democracy in action, much like the influence of the American Revolution on the rest of the world.
Democracy in Iraq can work and it will work, if Americans do not fall into the trap of the liberals and their henchmen: the mainstream media, and pull out of the Middle East now. America is not losing the War on Terror. America is not losing the War in Iraq. Democracy will take hold and stay as long as we continue to pursue our objectives: push for democracy, kill terrorist and Saddamists, and train the Iraqis to take over the security of their nation as we slowly hand their country back to them. Should we lose our nerve now and pull out, Iraq will become a worse terrorist haven than it was under Saddam Hussein. Democracy in Iraq will work!
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