Monday, January 24, 2005
9:57 AM — State Supported Terrorism
somebody, somebody, SOMEBODY please tell Bush he's going about this all wrong. He talks about spreading democracy throughout the world, and yet, does anyone remember the reason why terrorists target the US? You there in the back corner. "Um, because we're meddling in the Middle East?" Speak up sonny, the people in Washington can't hear you. "BECAUSE WE'RE MEDDLING IN THE MIDDLE EAST!" Bush makes a connection between tyranny and war. Well, what about all the wars that democracy has started?
Meanwhile, it's my personal opinion that not all societies are ready for democracy. In the modern world, which countries are democracies? That's right, the industrialized First World superpowers. Russia isn't a First World nation. England is still technically a monarcy, but it's the EU that's the superpower. The Founding Fathers of the US felt it was important that the people actually doing the voting understand what they are voting for. There's a good chance that democracy in Iraq will fail because all we like sheep will vote for our own tribal Khan (Hail all hail!) and whichever tribe is largest their leader will win and have to try to unify the rest. The people of Iraq do not know the other candidates. The people of the early US didn't know any of the candidates. What did it take for us to know? The industrial revolution and a life of leisure. Even in ancient Athens the rich men-folk had leisure, and they were all that were allowed to participate in their great democracy. It takes leisure time to begin to understand politics.
Though, there is one thing (besides I'm sure my gross ignorance and misunderstanding of the situation) that undermines my argument of leisure... Many of the people of Iraq have the leisure time to build and set off car bombs. Standing on a rooftop with a sniper rifle does not directly put food on your table. These people do have leisure time and are not living at the subsistence level. I guess free time in and of itself does not allow for a democracy, but I still contend that it is required.
Neh, I'm tired of ranting incoherently. Back to Final Fantasy 1X.
¶ permalink | 0 musings
Meanwhile, it's my personal opinion that not all societies are ready for democracy. In the modern world, which countries are democracies? That's right, the industrialized First World superpowers. Russia isn't a First World nation. England is still technically a monarcy, but it's the EU that's the superpower. The Founding Fathers of the US felt it was important that the people actually doing the voting understand what they are voting for. There's a good chance that democracy in Iraq will fail because all we like sheep will vote for our own tribal Khan (Hail all hail!) and whichever tribe is largest their leader will win and have to try to unify the rest. The people of Iraq do not know the other candidates. The people of the early US didn't know any of the candidates. What did it take for us to know? The industrial revolution and a life of leisure. Even in ancient Athens the rich men-folk had leisure, and they were all that were allowed to participate in their great democracy. It takes leisure time to begin to understand politics.
Though, there is one thing (besides I'm sure my gross ignorance and misunderstanding of the situation) that undermines my argument of leisure... Many of the people of Iraq have the leisure time to build and set off car bombs. Standing on a rooftop with a sniper rifle does not directly put food on your table. These people do have leisure time and are not living at the subsistence level. I guess free time in and of itself does not allow for a democracy, but I still contend that it is required.
Neh, I'm tired of ranting incoherently. Back to Final Fantasy 1X.
¶ permalink | 0 musings
