What Kind of Democracy
What kind of Democracy is it that a bunch of people who think they own the world (which they surely don’t!) tell someone else; who is doing better than them; they call him all kinds of names; they don’t want him in their fancy clubs, they just say that he should not have something which they ALL have, and they end up saying they want to proliferate in more sophisticated ways…? !
How in heaven can the US prove it is innocent after killing thousands of free people who were just living in their own homes?
In the name of What? In the name of Who?
The cowboys of Freedom Ranch and their legal advisers better stay and keep their cows back home, instead of wanting to bring freedom to other places outside their properties, showing off their killing machines and fancy toys. Their Freedom is only a means for them to kill as they please and their backwardness in understanding human civility and the fundamental rights (they seem to know nothing of ) will be their last historical achievement before the decline of their Empire….
The US and first lady Israel, and the rest of those who support them, should not be allowed to possess any weapons, not even a colt! Who knows what a mass murderer is capable of.
In a civilized world a serial killer should be stopped immediately, not a person who is forced to defend his legal sovereignty and basic rights. On March 5 in year 2008, a same day which the NPT, an international treaty to limit the spread of nuclear weapons entered into force back in 1970, those who are about to use their weapons to clean the face of earth of all “resistance”, will surely leave another stain on their own histories… and more blood on their dollars and non-sense…
Insanity has sunk too far in some brains as well as those sitting at the UNSC but they are not yet on the “terrorist lists”. All it needs is to be patient.
Democracy is dead. Long live Humanity.
Posted at 3/05/2008 07:50:00 PM UTC
Permanent Link
11 Comment(s):
These are truly hard times, but I have to stay optimistic. There will be a change in the US Administration soon, and there will be a recession that will reset peoples' priorities here. Hopefully, this will also lead to an end to this strange stalemate we have between Euro-American capitalism (of which the various military actions are just one part) and the economic activities of the rest of the world. I think a better world is possible and that this country's part in that better world might have to start with an economic re-adjustment of expectations, which luckily is just what's happening right now.
However, not every ill in this world is attributable to either American or European economic and military dominance. Some of the things that are wrong in other countries are the faults of the governments and the people of those countries, and to pretend that no responsibility lies in the countries themselves is nothing else than avoidance behavior designed to maintain the staus quo.
I do hope for a more enlightened America than what exists now, but that doesn't mean that most other countries don't also need a good dose of progressive thinking and acting too.
Progressive thinking can not be a mode or style imposed on other people only because a few stylists have decided to make everyone wear it.
Being progressive is already admitting that people act as they do, and wear what they want. But although people can be very responsible for what happens in their own countries , but as long as people are treated as sheep, and other people want to keep "the herd" (from inside or outside http://www.democracynow.org/2008/3/3/stephen_kinzer_on_the_us_iranian ), it is hard to set free from the paths that have been set out for nations. Because if some people manage to run away they will only be exposed to more danger...
Although some finally do that and change happens, but to do so pioneers either need alot of courage or quite a bit of unconsciousness.
If different people were truly treated as equals, then one would learn that there is alot to learn, from all the animals, roaming in this world, savage or tame... wearing or not wearing the same clothes.
ZarCom
For me, it is completely anathema for progressive thinking to be imposed on anyone, because if it is being imposed, it can't be progressive. For me progressive thinking is what happens when the individual has the full ability to formulate his/her own views based on what they perceive around them. What is also anathema for progressive thinking is for citizens to know that they will be physically punished for taking opinions that go against the mainstream.
I agree, Ian. There's nothing at all progressive about forcing any individual or group to behave the way that 'leadership' believes they should. No person, religion or government can touch an individual's subjective beliefs, but those beliefs are necessarily internalized and squelched if their expression, which occurs during the transition from interior thought to exterior action, is forbidden by those in power. That's the opposite of progressive.
As long as we hurt no one, we should all share the basic human right to enact that transition without fearing negative, NON-progressive consequences. As a woman with relatives in the South who would love to return to the days of segregation (even slavery!), I feel particularly passionate about this. The Civil Rights movement would have gone nowhere if the progressive, strong voices of brave people had been silenced.
-Jen, who still can't get her blogger name to cooperate !
Is not being allowed to wear a headscarf if you want to go to University a sign of progressiveness or forced freedom?
I think that problems come because people dont understand each other even if they speak the same languages.
You can only resolve problems if you clearly state an idea or an action. What comes behind slogans and theories are based on assumptions and attitudes towards that which is encrusted inside people's beliefs.
And I mean belief as in believing in anything more or less deeply understood.
Some people rather stick to their cultural heritage in order to keep track of their identity.
Can this not bring about Democracy.
As for being physically punished, I think being tortured to different degrees is happening on a daily basis in ordinary peoples lives...
Breathing in smoke sent by Smokers for example is a long term punishment for those who have to bear the consequences of other peoples choices...
Or seeing ugly scenes of depression in a subway train every morning can also be a terrible pain inflicted on someone who wishes to keep faith in his or her future...
Thats all about societies and the pictures that we take with us as post cards.
ZarCom
I'd say that any government that actually passes laws dealing specifically with headscarves (either making you wear them or making you not wear them) is squarely in the un-progressive camp!
As for individuals and progressive behavior, it is my understanding that tolerance is the most progressive way. And I believe that tolerance should not just be exercised solely towards people of strong, encoded convictions that are rooted in a traditional mindset, but also should be equally exercised towards those millions who do not profess to be following any specific strict codes of conduct or who are not necessarily focused on their cultural inheritance as a roadmap for behavior.
As for the various mini-tortures of day-to-day living , I am with you 100% on that. And I think that as the economy gets worse, people will suffer more and more from regular little agonies that become parts of their day. I personally feel regularly tormented by overly activist parents in my neighborhood who just won't let their kids be kids.
ZarCom, I'd have to base my answer to your first question on my personal experiences in a country where women were required by religious law to cover themselves from head to toe. Not only was I punished by public beating for showing my hair when I first moved there (and thought that was OK to do), but I got to know many women who resented the things they were forced/not allowed to do. What bothered me most was that they didn't have access to crucial choices, and that eroded their sovereignty as humans in their and my eyes.
In that case, the action (of expressing one's disapproval of a law s/he considers wrong, if it's manifested by an
action that would hurt no one -essentially a form of gentle protest) would be refusing to wear the required covering. As for beliefs, even within societies that appear to be uniform in their religious/ethical tenets, there are still great internal disparities and conflicts within and among individuals. That internal angst, if widespread enough, can potentially lead to large-scale chaos.
As for physical torture/abuse, it's an unfortunate fact that it happens within private homes in every And that in itself is technically criminal (in most countries I know of), but unfortunately will never be fully controlled because of the coexistence of laws protecting privacy.
Smoking may seem like a minor point on its face, but it's a serious public health issue. Civil libertarians in the U.S. cringe at anti-smoking laws, but most people actually agree with them, and many fewer public establishments allow it than in earlier days-even five to ten years ago. It's illegal to smoke in most French restaurants-unimaginable even a decade ago! Of course, the same problem as mentioned above still exists in private homes, and cigarettes will probably never be illegal.
Having lived in a number of countries, I have seen suffering in the streets everywhere to different degrees. The 'postcard phenomenon' is universal; every society is guilty of sending out a shiny, happy image of itself to the rest of the world which, of course, misleads...but also attracts tourism. Our governments are also all guilty of suppressing their ugliest societal truths,in my opinion...
Still have to read Ian's comments, and still have to re-set my account so I can actually have a name!
PennJen
Sorry...left out a crucial word! 'It happens in private homes in every society'
Sorry!
Indeed, and the ugliest truth behind the American postcard is that this country has more prisoners than China! And that's just counting the prison population that is incarcerated here on American soil.
Yes, the U.S. has ANY more prisoners per capita (700-plus) than any other country, as far as we know, and by a wide margin. China's fourth or fifth, I think.
Hmmmm...do you think that may just have something to do with the fact that we're the gun-craziest country on earth- a by-product of democracy?
Our philosophical and practical counterpoints, societies such as Saudi Arabia- profoundly oppressive yet boastful re: their absence of street crime- are just as bad in other ways.
Where/who's the happy medium? I can't figure it out.
That's MANY more prisoners.
That's it-no more typing until I'm off the cold medicine!
Post a Comment
All comments are welcome, however, rather than posting an Anonymous comment please consider selecting Other and providing your name or nickname so others know who you are. Thanks.