Be carefull what you ask for........(or What DUBYA did for Democracy)

I honestly think Dubya needs a lesson in basic democracy 101. It's a hard lesson even we here at home seem to have to learn about every four years. In a democracy, people run for office, promising what they will do once there, and the guy with the best story gets the most votes. Now, the best story means different things to different people, which is why there was such a shock when more people bought Dubya's story than Kerry's this last election. As a story, it might not make alot of sense to people with a certain understanding of what the truth really is, but if you are outnumbered by enough people who disagree with you, you are shit out of luck as far as seeing your candidate elected.

Now, Dubya wanted to see "freedom" and "democracy" spread throughout the Middle East, and got the ball rolling with a nice little war. And, as expected, Iraqi's are voting along party lines, just like we do here in the good old USA. However, unlike us, the losers over there don't take losing anywhere near as graciously, and as they always have, if they don't get their way via the ballot box, they try and get it via the gun, the bomb, and any other method that intimidates the opposition. Nice try, Dubya. Did you honestly think it would be that easy?

And now the Palestinians have decided that HAMAS has the better story in the gaza strip. Imagine that. HAMAS has been the major thorn in the side of the Israelis and the west, and have been very successful with their social programs aimed at gaining favor with the masses. All the old regime did was make corruption a household word, never getting anywhere with the goal of a free and independent Palestinian homeland. Well, HAMAS put it's money where it's mouth was, and it is actually no surprise that a majority of Palestinians decided maybe someone else should take a shot at lifting them out of their misery. They really don't care that the Israeli's and the West have promised they will never work with a government that pledges to wipe Israel off the map, since that has been a muslim sentiment in general since the beginning, and denouncing terrorism while not being able to control it made any real chance of success a no-win situation for Arafat and his corrupt minions anyway.

Surprised, Dubya? Did you think that because your patriotic, God-fearing constituents happened to outnumber the other guy's patriotic, God-fearing voters, that your place in history was a given? Did you honestly think that just because people in other countries get to vote for their leaders that they would naturally always make the right choice? Oh.........stupid me.........of COURSE you believed that! Just like you believed that the Iraqi people would all joyously embrace the American Occupation, showering our troops with rose petals and celebrating you as the great liberator! Just like you believe that cutting taxes on the rich and sticking it to the poor is the Christian thing to do.

Revolutions and military coups rarely lead to freedom, yet democratic elections, even the one's mostly fair and honest, can sometimes open the door to oppression. You simply ask the electorate, "What kind of system do you want to live under?" and they answer you. Amazingly, they sometimes choose the way most likely to strip them of their freedoms and their future right to choose. Russia is a classic example of a country so broken, so dysfunctional, that it's citizens, having gotten a taste of what capitalistic freedom is all about, have begun to change their minds about living in a society where it's every man for himself, allowing Putin to slowly put the screws to their new democracy and gently pull them back into a new style of Soviet style dictatorship. So what if freedom of the press is a threat to the state? No news is good news.

So, you see, George, democracy is not a state of being, it is a means to an end. And it's strange that you don't know that, although I suspect you do. Look at what you've been trying to do to our own democracy. The Patriot Act. Violations of privacy with nary a hint of judicial overview. Shape-shifting the war powers act to mean anything George wants it to. Calling anyone you suspect to be a terrorist an "enemy combatant", which you claim gives you the right to ignore the the very basis of our judicial system by denying them any rights whatsoever, not even charging them with a crime, torturing them, and locking them up indefinitely. Will there come a time when we might expect to receive better treatment from our enemies than our own government?

Yes, George, you asked for it, and you got it. Democracy in action. The plain ugly truth, this idea of people not acting according to your assumptions. And what will you do when the government of a nation hostile to us is elected overwhelmingly by it's citizens based on a promise to stand up to us? Will you insist that the bombs you drop on them is not meant for them put only for their leaders? Will you invade yet another nation in the name of freedom and democracy, only this time put in some fine print stating that they can elect anyone they want to, as long as they are approved by us? Well, Dubya, thanks to you, people are going to elect the bad guys if for no reason other than to spite us, even if they have to cut off their own noses to do it. Thank you for teaching them the lessons of democracy so well. We'll remember you always for it.