Tuesday, February 01, 2005
The Iraqi Elections
No matter where you stand on the war in Iraq, you had to be amazed by the images of Iraqi’s, Sunni, Shia and Kurd dancing in the streets and proudly showing the ink stained fingers. But is this the greatest news of the year?
This question comes from the point of view that democracy and elections are the greatest good. While I think very highly of the liberal democratic system, it cannot be our greatest good. Lets not forget that Adolph Hitler was elected by a democratic system. At the same time, many great leaders have served, not from a democratic position, but from that of royalty (we don’t use this word often, but, dictatorship). Queen Elizabeth of England, King David of Israel, and the kings of Siam/Thailand all are examples of decent to great rulers who were not elected shows that while democracy is valuable, it is not the only way to govern a nation.
