Thursday, October 13, 2005
Naysayers Wrong Again
"Deomcracy will never work in Iraq." I've heard it, I bet you have too. And yet, it seems to be working. Iraq The Model reports on modifications to the proposed constitution to be ratified this weekend that appears to have satisfied the majority representative of the Sunni's.
The process matters, for democracy is defined in the process far more than it is defined in the product. Much as I think sharia is not the way to go -- if Iraq votes for it, and continues to vote for it, in real elections then I will have hope. Sharia, I think, cannot long stand in a truly democratic society. This is good news indeed.
I think this breakthrough shows the difference between the way political parties deal with things when compared to clerics and ex-Ba?athists like Mutlaq of the Dialogue Conference who still adopt a stiff stand and apparently like to oppose just to stop things from progressing; the Islamic Party weighed things in a smart way and took the decision to change their attitude when the other involved parties showed active will to work things out and override obstacles.What I love most of all is that democracy is working to make democracy work. They are talking, debating, VOTING! That is the essence of democracy.
The process matters, for democracy is defined in the process far more than it is defined in the product. Much as I think sharia is not the way to go -- if Iraq votes for it, and continues to vote for it, in real elections then I will have hope. Sharia, I think, cannot long stand in a truly democratic society. This is good news indeed.
