Democracy unfettered means the minority can become the prey of the majority. In an ideal world, this would not happen. But we don't live in that kind of a world, and that is why democracy is, by itself, a potential danger to civilisation. The Framers knew this, and I believe their wisdom endures.
Since 9/11 we have been fed a steady diet of pro-democracy propaganda. Most realize that the U.S. is a republic and not a democracy. And thank God. What is of interest to me is why policy makers on both sides continue to push Democracy in the Middle East. It is old news but many in the Middle East have a negative image of the United States. Since WWII we have had a hand in propping up and funding tyrants like Saddam and brining down and undermining legitimate democratic movements (think Iran in 1953....Operation Ajax). I understand there are legitimate reasons for our meddling in the region (OIL!!!). But that does not change the fact that these actions have led to a negative view of the U.S. So now we find ourselves in the "War on Terror", which has as a cornerstone of it's policy the proliferation of democracy. But we must ask ourselves do we want these people voting.
Look what happen in Palestine. They voted for Hamas and we withdrew aid. How must that look to those people? They did what we asked and they are punished. This delegitimizes our moral authority (what's left of it). The ideal alternative is to decrease our overactive hand in the region while at the same time funding research for alternative sources of oil. For now we have only the first option at our disposal. But we must quit trying to dictate to others how to run governments. It will always backfire in that region. There is too much suspicion. We need to give up the utopian hopes of transforming the region and instead be honest with ourselves and others. Repeat after me: "We do not give a damn about the people of the Middle East and we are only interested in their political systems because of oil, which we need to power our economy." Does that not feel better?
