OTOTO
Amy, I've thought a little more about your post and I have to respond to something else you said:
"Not everyone wants our type of freedom to be imposed on them."
I've heard this argument one time too many. This is a line out of the liberal's handbook. What's funny about it is that it's exactly what the fundamentalist, radical, violent Islamic people and the Arab governments tell the rest of the Muslims in the world.
I find that line of reasoning disingenuous at best. First of all I, like Bush, believe that freedom is a God given right to all the people on earth. Americans are free. We'd like for everyone to be as free as we are. You say they don't want us to impose our kind of freedom on them, but that statement is ridiculous on its face. Freedom is not an imposition. Everyone deserves it. We aren't imposing anything on anyone. We're simply giving people in Afghanistan and Iraq, and hopefully the rest of the Arab world eventually, the freedom they currently lack to self-determine what type of government they want.
In Afghanistan, they formed a Loya Jirga to determine what kind of government they want and then they wrote a constitution and are now having elections. Not ironically, it is a form of democracy. They are free, but are still getting pestered by those who "don't want freedom imposed on them". You know who those people are: the Taliban and Warlords reluctant to give up their power for the good of the people.
In Iraq, we aren't telling them what type of government to have, we're just trying to provide what security we can, while the self-determined government takes shape. Is this really an imposition?
And besides, who better than an American to teach the other cultures how to create a government accountable to the people? We have 228 years of experience in this area. In my business, it's considered downright stupid not to take advantage of the experience of experts when we work on a project. Why should building a free nation be any different?
We need to stop picking up ridiculous arguments put forth by those in power who are trying to retain their power by oppressing the people, without applying a good dose of assumption busting.
This "imposition of freedom" theory is bankrupt at its core and ludicrous on its face.
Just had to say all that. :) |
