A Lesson in Democracy

Egyptian Nobel laureate ElBaradei has fallen by the wayside in his country's political race. Granted that the military regime hasn't lived up to its promises -- the reason he has given for withdrawing his candidacy -- but it seems that his support wasn't what he expected. There's been also talk that he has lived too long abroad, which has put him our of touch with some aspects of Egyptian reality. All that may very well be the real reason for quitting. Maybe he thought that the Egyptian people would acclaim him as their leader, making an election unnecessary. Or he expected to win in a landslide. When it became clear that none of this was going to happen, the former diplomat became discouraged.

Democracy is tough.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Low, Low Tactic

Here's a significant little item. Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, has announced that it will increase the number of stores in which it will have weapons for sale. Although it had cut back in that department in 2006, slow sales have convinced that selling rifles, shotguns and ammunition in half of its stores is the way to increase profits. So, the next time you, as an American citizen, feel like going on a shooting rampage against family, friends or coworkers, just go to the nearest Wal-Mart, where, for a "low, low everyday price", you'll be able to pick up a nice little arsenal, courtesy of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Happy hunting!
Read more

Don't Know, Don't Care

I's been called "the dumbing down of America", a recognition of the downward spiral of American education. The average person in the U.S. is ill-informed about national and international affairs. Thus, they are easy prey for demagogues who trade in false patriotism, fear and prejudice. A recent study of political views confirms just how ignorant and gullible is the typical U.S. citizen. For democracy to work, there has to be a well-informed citizenry. The men of 1776 knew this, and pinned their hopes on it for their political experiment to succeed. They would be extremely disappointed in 2011. Ironically, with all the freedom of information and multiple outlets to obtain it, the American people have very little political culture and their participation in the democratic processes is far from what it should be in an advanced society.
Read more

Columbus' Curse

Although it wasn't altogether new, the 1992 celebration of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America made it fashionable to malign Columbus big time.  From Indians from all over the Americas, who still hold a  grudge against the Spanish conquistadores , to latter-day revisionist historians, everybody got into the act of pissing on the erstwhile "Grand Admiral."  Year after year we keep hearing the same old story: he wasn't the first to come to America (everybody and his brother had been here before); if he was, it was only because he had some maps given to him by somebody else (or stolen) from somebody else; it was just a fluke, etc. It has become politically correct to badmouth Columbus. I suppose all those purists would have preferred that he stay home, leaving us all in a  perpetual Garden of Eden, untouched by the European culture.  This is nonsense.  No matter if, objectively, he wasn't the first to set foot on this part of the world or whatever adv
Read more