**Jefferson's Parlor**

A Place for Contemplation of Democratic Political Philosophy and Its Meaning for Democratic Parties.......Now with Added Social Science!

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EDUCATION: Master’s Degree in Sociology; WORK EXPERIENCE: Case Worker, Researcher, Teacher, Supervisor, Assistant Manager, Actor, Janitor, Busboy, Day Laborer; COUNTRIES I HAVE VISITED: Austria, England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Egypt, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay; FAMILY: Father from Ukraine, Mother from USA, wife from Colombia, one brother and one sister; LANGUAGES: English, Spanish and German [although my German is "rusty"]; CITIZENSHIP: USA. My wife, who is an artist, drew the picture at left in 1996. I had hair on top back then. Now it grows out of my ears and nose instead. OF ALL THE THINGS I HAVE DONE IN MY LIFE, I am proudest of this blog. I hope someone reads it!

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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Parlor Wit

George W. Bush, on exporting Democracy:

"I like the idea of people running for office. There's a positive effect when you run for office. Maybe some will run for office and say, vote for me, I look forward to blowing up America. I don't know, I don't know if that will be their platform or not. But it's -- I don't think so. I think people who generally run for office say, vote for me, I'm looking forward to fixing your potholes, or making sure you got bread on the table." --George W. Bush, on elections in the Middle East, Washington, D.C., March 16, 2005

"I think we are welcomed. But it was not a peaceful welcome." --George W. Bush, defending Vice President Dick Cheney's pre-war assertion that the United States would be welcomed in Iraq as liberators, NBC Nightly News interview, Dec. 12, 2005

"The point now is how do we work together to achieve important goals. And one such goal is a democracy in Germany." --George W. Bush, D.C., May 5, 2006

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm

Monday, January 08, 2007

Exporting Democracy

When the second invasion of Iraq could not be justified by evidence of “weapons of mass destruction”, and could not be justified by credible links between Saddam and Al Qaeda, the US administration proclaimed that it was justified on the grounds that it spread Freedom and Democracy. But Democracy is an idea, a philosophy, a way of looking at things, and a way of life. It cannot be exported like grapes, and it cannot be imposed without disregarding the will of the very people it is supposed to reflect. Certain preconditions are necessary for Democracy to exist.


Robert A. Dahl, in his book titled “On Democracy”, considers the histories of democracies around the world and concludes that the following conditions are “essential” for successful democracies:

  • Absence of hostile outside intervention;
  • Control of the military and police by elected officials;
  • Weak or nonexistent internal cultural conflict; and
  • Strong popular support for democratic ideas, values and practices. [On Democracy, 1998, Yale University Press, Ch. 12]


Applied to W’s Debacle, the shortfalls are painfully clear:

  • There are outside players exerting force to shape the political outcomes in Iraq;
  • The elected officials apparently have limited control over military and police units, since a number of those units have loyalties lying elsewhere;
  • Internal cultural conflict has always existed, and it is stronger now due to open ethnic warfare; and
  • Popular support for democratic ideals, values and practices is weakened by conflicting allegiances to authoritarian groups and leaders.


There were many of us, including W’s father, who foresaw that W’s Big Adventure would mean disaster for Iraq. The country was created by foreign powers, had obvious internal conflicts, and existed in a region rife with feuding neighbors. How could the outcome be otherwise?


As a U.S. citizen, I feel a profound sorrow for what has been done in our name, and in the name, allegedly, of Democracy. I and other Americans marched in demonstrations to prevent W’s invasion of Iraq, but we were not enough. Now, too late, the horror has become apparent. People of Iraq, you did not ask for this monumental challenge, but it has fallen upon you, and hard. I can only hope that you are able to quickly find a path to more peaceful coexistence.