One Man-One Vote: Now That’s a Pogrom!
January 29, 2004
Let’s talk some common sense. Democracy will prevail in Iraq. Yup…One Man-One Vote.
Of course this democratic success will look more like a pogrom than a constitutional convention. I hope, for the sake of the Sunnis and Kurds, that the Shi’as are good masters. And speaking of the Kurds, I wonder what Turkey will be carving up by Thanksgiving.
Why the pessimism? Because the same thing would happen in America…if it was a democracy. For those who might have forgotten, the U.S. is a democratic republic. What a difference that little word “republic” can make.
Let’s play make-believe. Hit the delete button on the word “republic” and liberate America into the freedom of pure democracy. Well, for one thing, we just helped the budget deficit. The Government Printing Office no longer has to waste money inking that silly Bill of Rights…it would now be irrelevant.
Oh, pardon…maybe our superior public educational system was so busy teaching tolerance for Islam that it skipped this part of the lesson. The Constitution was specifically adopted to ensure that the U.S. would not become a victim to the whimsies of democracy (you might want to read Federalist Paper No. 10). Hope you didn’t blow that question on the SAT’s.
So you think that you have your “rights”. Guess again. The only “inalienable” right in a pure democracy is the Darwinian will of the majority. Think of it in these terms: There are three houses on your street. Your two neighbors each have six children, all of whom play soccer. The nearest soccer field is 25 miles away. Your neighbors take a vote and you lose…2 to 1. You are thrown into the street and your property is transformed into a soccer field. What property rights…confiscation by will of the majority. One Man-One Vote.
Maybe that politically correct curriculum from the NEA dismisses this, but your “Rights” protect you from the tyranny of democracy. Phrased more eloquently…that little word “republic” ensures the protection of minority rights from the tyranny of majority rule. Get it?
Our republican form of government throttles the scope of democratic empowerment. Thus, your rights actually are inalienable. A majority of 99 can’t deny liberty to a minority of 1. Quit sweating…your house is safe from the soccer moms, but don’t ever trust the eminent domain of your elected officials.
What does this have to do with Iraq?
Very predictably (for anybody with an I.Q. above room temperature), Grand Ayatollah Sistani, the strongest Shi’a cleric in Iraq, has his Shi’a minions protesting for the immediate formation of an Iraqi one man-one vote government. With the Shi’as comprising about 65% of the Iraqi population…well, Duh, the Shi’as are guaranteed absolute control of a nation with no history of respect for anything except raw Darwinian power. Historian, Dr. Phebe Marr explains it with brevity, “Shia means partisan or party…the Shia follow the leader.” It looks like Sistani is angling for the Clinton dream…complete control.
This sudden rekindling of the Shi’as long smoldering democratic desire is a transparent con-game. Sistani and pals are simply playing the U.S. for the naïve dupes that a significant portion of the world believes we are. The Shi’a game is simple...pander to the U.S. “give me a hug” crowd with enlightened democratic babble, wrest control of Iraq under Shi’a dominance and then...slam the door shut.
In prior times, America pursued short-term strategic gains when it nurtured Hussein and bin Laden. Perhaps, this time, our leadership might have an eye towards the long-term best interests of their shareholders...i.e., the citizens who own this country. Who really wants to wakeup, hundreds of dead and billions of dollars later, to a new Hussein named Sistani. How many times does Pearl Harbor have to be attacked with “made in America” scrap metal before U.S. leadership catches on?
Democracy (sometimes) works in America because of its evolutionary and limited nature. Prior to our Founding Fathers’ epiphany, Western Christian principles of self-government evolved incrementally over centuries. And, at its worst, the “negotiations” during the formation of the U.S. were characterized by heated debate between civilized gentlemen. Most importantly, America’s liberation from British rule was home-grown. Americans conceived of liberation, fought for liberty and adopted a system of free government...they were not spoon-fed “peace loving” Muslims. Jefferson et al were worldly, educated and hygienic. Sadly, they did not get close to God through self-flagellation.
Unlike the barbaric infidels from the West, our Muslim brothers in Iraq are not children of the Enlightenment. The evolution of Iraqi government is a legacy of bad to worse...atrocious by our standards. For a democracy to succeed, there have to be limits on the power of democracy. Representative rule and constitutional protections are a good start.
But, more importantly, any democratic form of government must be a reflection of its society’s cultural mores. A free government is merely a portrait of its citizens’ moral beliefs.
Without serious limits on the power of an Iraqi democracy, autocracy and atrocity will be the end result. Despite Sistani’s posturing, the U.S. should be firm in establishing an Iraqi government that gives proportional representation to the 35% Sunni, 15%-20% Kurdish, and 5% Turkoman-Assyrian-Christian segments of Iraqi society. Constitutional rights must be guaranteed to the minority segments...probably at the end of a gun. And don’t look to the U.N. for much help here since most U.N. member countries aren’t free themselves.
Absent these minority guarantees, Iraq will suffer demographic voting at its most frightening extreme. And this is where East doesn’t meet West.
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