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Part 115: Democracy and Terrorism II:
August 9, 2004:
In my previous essay I began with the issue of democratizing the world to prevent terrorism. I rejected the United Nations as a viable tool for this task. I also discussed the special cases of Afghanistan and Iraq that are in need of immediate attention. As to that, It is clear that a large part of the worlds terrorist acts are executed by people from the Arab nations. This is not a coincidence. The truth is, a large part of the Arab world is controlled by international criminals and despots of the worst kind.
I believe we must overthrow the international criminals and restore the entire Muslim world to the Muslim people. Then we must support them in creating solid government institutions, so the criminals will never again gain a foothold. They need democratic government and the rule of law in place of capricious dictators. Yes, the Prince of Saudi Arabia is one who must step down. This notion that he somehow owns that country is pure nonsense. Arabia belongs to the Muslim people, not some dandy prince.
Now, this does not mean we must send our army into these countries as we did in Iraq. That was a debacle we need not repeat. There are more subtle ways to bring down despots. The best and most sure way is the way it happened in the Soviet Empire. We systematically exposed the people of that empire to the products and benefits of democracy. That created a gradual buildup of pressure that was bound to explode in a drive for freedom, and it did.
If you will notice it, the same thing is happening in China. The end is in sight for the despots of China. The day will come when their army will turn against them and support the people. Again, it is America that is causing that through example, not through brute force. The iron curtain had leaks and the bamboo curtain has even bigger leaks. The despots cannot suppress the truth. Even without televison and the internet the truth slipped through. Now the internet provides a gaping hole in their wall. The butchery in Tiananmen Square did not end it. The Chinese people will rise up again.
Therein then is our method. It is a long term thing, but we need not impose democracy. We need simply to set the example and expose the oppressed people to the benefits of democracy. They will do the rest. In all cases, we can be proactive in our public moral support. In some cases we might be proactive in covert support, but we must be very careful of arming reactionaries. In too many cases we have mistaken potential enemies for allies and armed them to our later detriment.
Our covert support could better take the form of food and medicine. Food and medicine continues to be the most effective weapons we have against the despots, but we must find a viable way to deliver them. We cannot drop them out of airplanes and expect to be effective. Doing that in Afghanistan is one of the dumbest things we ever did. Most of that stuff was wasted. Much of the rest ended up in the hands of our enemies.
If we are careful we can offer some support, but the biggest support we can offer is our example. We must take great care to not lose the high ground in the struggle. It is much to easy to take short cuts such as we took in Guantanamo and the prison scandal in Iraq. That kind of disgrace is totally unnecessary and counterproductive.
If we let the oppressed people see the products of democracy and the example of our good behavior their own superior people will rise up to lead them. We will simply need to stand by with our International Support and Response Service (ISRS) and whatever other services seem appropriate for an emerging people. Their leadership will come from their own superior people. They will have their share of superior people.
Superior people are not unique to one race or culture. Truly superior people have no race. They will eschew ethnic identifications as primitive and counterproductive. We have a heritage because of the conditions of our birth, but we have no race except the human race. It is our heritage, when blended through intermarriage with other heritages that enriches the human community. Our ethnic identity makes us rich only if we share and assimilate our different backgrounds. Otherwise, our heritage can be a source of divisiveness.
The ghetto mentality that demands exclusive racial identification is not healthy, it is insanity. Be you Finns, Jews, Germans, Arabs, or Ukrainians, ethnic exclusion is madness. By that same logic, we have no nationality. With that attitude we can eventually visualize a world of one people with one nonintrusive government of and by the people. In the meantime, we must work within the current situation with its nationalistic outlooks using whatever tools present themselves.
Our goal is to make the world safe for families, for children, and for honest business activities. The way we do that is to democratize the world. We help remove the despots and help people create viable governments. If necessary we can move in and install governors until representative democracy can grow and flower. We must take charge of the world and make it better for all kids and all families and all honest business. Only a democratic people can provide the resources to do that. Therefore, it is our duty to humanity to do it. It is also necessary to self defense.
No other people have ever had the opportunity we now have. Many other government forms have been tried and they have all failed. Communism fails because it leaves a power vacuum. That will lead to anarchy and ultimately to authoritarian rule. At this time, people are just not good enough to make communism work. Someday we may have a better form of government. However, with the people we have now, we have the best government possible in representative democracy. We cannot change the nature of people overnight. We can change their behavior, but only with a stable government in place. It will not occur in a power vacuum. People are short sighted. Deferred gratification will not work for most of the rabble.
Representative democracy is the best compromise between anarchy
and dictatorship. It is sure not perfect, but it can be made to
work. Communism is a childish notion based on an erroneous assumption
of human nature. It assumes man is inherently good. This will
only be true when there is an understandable social structure
within which he can function. Then enlightened self interest will
cause him to behave well. He must know that his own good is dependent
upon the good of the community. This will be apparent when the
functioning of the community is based in law.
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