Oh, THAT Democracy
Democracy is hard work, as we don't need our President to remind us. We see horrific, broad-daylight executions of Iraqi election workers. The dioxin-scarred Ukrainian opposition candidate lives to fight another day, and protesters courageously stand up against the rigged election and secret police. (Although how risky was opposition, really? The secret police apparently didn't know dioxin wasn't an absolutely fatal poison, and the scenes of resisters making out in the square looked like a foreign remake of "When Grigoriy Met Svetlana.") In Spain, voters either caved to the terrorists or spanked the incumbents for supporting the US War in Iraq, depending on your point of view. We see blacks in Ohio still standing in line at the polling....
These people are courageous, and they truly deserve America's support.
But nothing made the Administration wax rhapsodic like the elections in Afghanistan. There, too, was violence against election workers. Women voters were subjected to intimidation. Election officials estimated between 9.5 and 9.8 million eligible voters in the nation. And despite registration levels of less than 10 percent in some provinces where security was poor, it looked like the turnout might be of Chicago-like proportions:
“The Afghan people are showing extraordinary courage under difficult conditions… They’ve adopted a constitution that protects the rights of all, while honoring their nation’s most cherished traditions. More than 10 million Afghan citizens - over 4 million of them women - are now registered to vote … To any who still would question whether Muslim societies can be democratic societies, the Afghan people are giving their answer.”
- President Bush, September 21, 2004
He also lectured us about how how many young girls in Afghanistan were finally able to return to school, as if that's why we'd sent troops there in the first place. Even when he has a good point, why does he turn around and make it so self-righteous?
We should be hailing free elections and renewed educational opportunity in Afghanistan (see Link below), but it's still tempting to ridicule the President's commitment to democracy and women's rights—because of those other free elections.
No, not the ones in Kosovo and Serbia. I'm talking about the new nationwide elections being staged by our friends and allies, Saudi Arabia.
Voter registration for the Feb. 10 local elections—the first in the country's history—is underwhelming. In the first month since registration opened in the Riyadh area, about 1/6th of eligible voters had bothered to register. And Saudi women will not be the poster children of this election. They're barred from voting. To anyone who would question whether Muslim societies can be democratic societies, the Saudis are giving their answer, too.
Yes, democracy is hard work. Thank god there are lots of former enemies out there willing to give it a try.
These people are courageous, and they truly deserve America's support.
But nothing made the Administration wax rhapsodic like the elections in Afghanistan. There, too, was violence against election workers. Women voters were subjected to intimidation. Election officials estimated between 9.5 and 9.8 million eligible voters in the nation. And despite registration levels of less than 10 percent in some provinces where security was poor, it looked like the turnout might be of Chicago-like proportions:
“The Afghan people are showing extraordinary courage under difficult conditions… They’ve adopted a constitution that protects the rights of all, while honoring their nation’s most cherished traditions. More than 10 million Afghan citizens - over 4 million of them women - are now registered to vote … To any who still would question whether Muslim societies can be democratic societies, the Afghan people are giving their answer.”
- President Bush, September 21, 2004
He also lectured us about how how many young girls in Afghanistan were finally able to return to school, as if that's why we'd sent troops there in the first place. Even when he has a good point, why does he turn around and make it so self-righteous?
We should be hailing free elections and renewed educational opportunity in Afghanistan (see Link below), but it's still tempting to ridicule the President's commitment to democracy and women's rights—because of those other free elections.
No, not the ones in Kosovo and Serbia. I'm talking about the new nationwide elections being staged by our friends and allies, Saudi Arabia.
Voter registration for the Feb. 10 local elections—the first in the country's history—is underwhelming. In the first month since registration opened in the Riyadh area, about 1/6th of eligible voters had bothered to register. And Saudi women will not be the poster children of this election. They're barred from voting. To anyone who would question whether Muslim societies can be democratic societies, the Saudis are giving their answer, too.
Yes, democracy is hard work. Thank god there are lots of former enemies out there willing to give it a try.
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