Democracy/Iraq

“If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.” – Aristotle (Aristotle 85)

Democracy depends, in working form, entirely on the will of the people. Aristotle, in this quote, tells us that a government of democracy is one where the people are working as the government, for the sake of their country, its liberties, and its peoples’ equality. That is what a democracy, in working form, is.

“Democracy is itself, a religious faith. For some it comes close to being the only formal religion they have.” – E.B. White (White 108)

Iraq is plagued by disunity stemming from deep prejudices caused by fundamentalist Islam and thousands of years under the rule of tyrants. Some within Iraq are willing to compromise these beliefs they have built up in order to allow unadulterated liberty and democracy to prosper, but many see this as unacceptable and are willing to send the country into civil war to have their ideas reign. Democracy is much like a religion, and the absolute laws of the religious must often be put aside in order for it to work. Christians in American history were willing to restrain their doctrine in order to allow for the voices of other worldviews to be heard in law making and all politics; the founding fathers could have pressed for Christianity to be the only permitted religion, as had been done in many cases before them (Europe for hundreds of years). The religious of Iraq must do the same if they wish for their country to be unified under democracy:

“As long as the differences and diversities of mankind exist, democracy must allow for compromise, for accommodation, and for the recognition of differences.” – Eugene Mccarthy (Democracy Quotes)

The people must embrace the spirit of democracy, if democracy is to be successful:

“The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within.” – Gandhi (Democracy Quotes)

In Iraq, we are attempting to forcefully impose democracy on the Iraqi people. The people must decide for themselves what government they are to have; we cannot make the choice for them. The spirit of democracy is something that is of the will and the heart. The only way democratic revolution is going to take place in Iraq is from leaders of Iraq promoting it. The leaders who have power over the will of the people, I mean, not those who have power over government. As I have written, democracy is about the people.

“The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.” – Gandhi (Democracy Quotes)

Terrorism is meant to destroy the good will of the people and their leaders. The spirit of democracy cannot flourish within a State of fear. The Iraqi people have been terrorized by dictators in the past, and now by Islamic extremists. Many Iraqis are, understandably, terrified. The spirit of democracy, the will of the people, the spirit of the people, has an enemy that manifests itself in terrifying images. The people cannot make good choices, or any choice at all, if they are living in fear of the consequences of making the right choice. Many Islamic leaders are, themselves, terrified of the people standing up to their oppressors and refusing to be afraid of murder and torture and accepting the spirit of democracy and unifying behind it.

“The price of the democratic way of life is a growing appreciation of people's differences, not merely as tolerable, but as the essence of a rich and rewarding human experience”. – Jerome Nathanson (Democracy Quotes)

Democracy does come at a price, as Nathanson writes. People must throw off prejudice and fears in order to accept what is good for the nation as a whole. Nothing worth having comes without a price, and to have that thing fully comes at the highest of prices.

Aristotle. Politics. Kessinger Publishing, 2004.

“Democracy Quotes.” Wisdom Quotes. 28 September, 2007.

White, Elwyn. Essays of E.B. White. HarperCollins, 1999.