The Cost of Democracy

[Nathan]

Loved Salim Mansur's latest column, and had to share:

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THE COST OF DEMOCRACY

By Salim Mansur, TORONTO SUN

As the long federal campaign unfolds, it might well become Canada's political winter of discontent.

But at some point during this period it will be worthwhile if Canadians reflect on the price people have paid for democracy -- and how it is not to be taken for granted.

This is the story the world is witnessing in Iraq: The story of a people liberated from tyranny by the sacrifices of another people -- the Americans and their allies -- yet compelled to defend their newly won freedom from the evil forces of a bloody-minded insurgency.

In mid-December, Iraqis will vote again and elect representatives to a new parliament devised by the constitution they approved in a referendum held this past October.

The transition of Iraq from a brutal dictatorship to a fledgling democracy is the most riveting story of the Arab-Muslim world in the past hundred years. It would not have happened without an American president forced by events to commit his nation's blood and treasure to secure the freedom of another nation.

U.S. President George Bush's decision to help bring regime change in Iraq as a consequence of 9/11 will be debated endlessly by historians and others, but it was not unprecedented.

Securing freedom and imposing democracies on Germany and Japan after World War II also required a coalition of willing allies united by their commitment to democracy, and Canadians of that generation carried their responsibility with pride and devotion of a free people.

In his speech last week at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, Bush once again made it clear to the world America's mission in Iraq. He said: "Despite the costs, the pain, and the danger, Iraqis are showing courage and are moving forward to build a free society and a lasting democracy in the heart of the Middle East -- and the United States of America will help them succeed."

Sadly, there are many among the post-WWII generation who have readily forgotten what dues must be paid to keep freedom secure.

It is most ironic when this comfortable generation speaks keenly about the world being a global village, or about the increasing cultural interdependence of communities in an eco-fragile planet, and yet remains unwilling to acknowledge how intimately connected is the struggle for freedom among all people.

On returning from a recent tour of Iraq, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat, wrote in the Wall Street Journal: "It is a war between 27 million and 10,000; 27 million Iraqis who want to live lives of freedom, opportunity and prosperity and roughly 10,000 terrorists who are either Saddam revanchists, Iraqi Islamic extremists or al-Qaida foreign fighters who know their wretched causes will be set back if Iraq becomes free and modern."

Lieberman broke rank with those of his fellow Democrats who are ready to appease the enemy, rather than bear the burden or pay the cost of protecting liberty that former president John Kennedy once preached.

But Canadians, in their winter of discontent, will likely remain preoccupied with domestic quarrels and wishes, however insignificant these are in the larger context of a world where evil is perpetrated by men -- as in Darfur -- and peril looms as Iran seeks to acquire nuclear capability.

The story of Iraq is a reminder that some people somewhere paid the price for those in democracy to enjoy freedom to choose how they will live and who will govern them.
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For those who don't know who Salim Mansur is, he is a professor of political science at the University of Western Ontario. A Muslim, Mansur is one of Canada's strongest conservative voices and supporters of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, and a breath of fresh air amidst the smog of Canada's left-wing socialist media and academia. A rare bird up here indeed.

You can read Mansur's weekly TORONTO SUN columns here: [url="http://torontosun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Mansur_Salim/"]http://torontosun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Mansur_Salim/[/url]

[beatty07]

That's a great column. I remember mixed feelings at the time of the first election...joy for the Iraqi people, shame for us. They fully expected a bloodbath on election day, and yet they still went in huge numbers. The threat of death couldn't keep them away from taking back their country.

We (in the US), on the other hand, mostly live within five minutes of a perfectly safe polling place. And half of us don't bother. Not because it's dangerous, but because the fate of the Great Experiment just doesn't make the priority list along with Desparate Housewives and Fear Factor.

At the same time, I think about how long it took us to achieve what modern citizens would call a decent democracy. To wit: if Iraq had ratified a constitution that institutionalized race slavery and only enfranchised white men, we'd consider that an abject failure and chalk it up to degenerate culture.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Nathan' date='Dec 4 2005, 08:18 AM']Loved Salim Mansur's latest column, and had to share:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE COST OF DEMOCRACY

By Salim Mansur, TORONTO SUN

As the long federal campaign unfolds, it might well become Canada's political winter of discontent.

But at some point during this period it will be worthwhile if Canadians reflect on the price people have paid for democracy -- and how it is not to be taken for granted.

This is the story the world is witnessing in Iraq: The story of a people liberated from tyranny by the sacrifices of another people -- the Americans and their allies -- yet compelled to defend their newly won freedom from the evil forces of a bloody-minded insurgency.

In mid-December, Iraqis will vote again and elect representatives to a new parliament devised by the constitution they approved in a referendum held this past October.

The transition of Iraq from a brutal dictatorship to a fledgling democracy is the most riveting story of the Arab-Muslim world in the past hundred years. It would not have happened without an American president forced by events to commit his nation's blood and treasure to secure the freedom of another nation.

U.S. President George Bush's decision to help bring regime change in Iraq as a consequence of 9/11 will be debated endlessly by historians and others, but it was not unprecedented.

Securing freedom and imposing democracies on Germany and Japan after World War II also required a coalition of willing allies united by their commitment to democracy, and Canadians of that generation carried their responsibility with pride and devotion of a free people.

In his speech last week at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, Bush once again made it clear to the world America's mission in Iraq. He said: "Despite the costs, the pain, and the danger, Iraqis are showing courage and are moving forward to build a free society and a lasting democracy in the heart of the Middle East -- and the United States of America will help them succeed."

Sadly, there are many among the post-WWII generation who have readily forgotten what dues must be paid to keep freedom secure.

It is most ironic when this comfortable generation speaks keenly about the world being a global village, or about the increasing cultural interdependence of communities in an eco-fragile planet, and yet remains unwilling to acknowledge how intimately connected is the struggle for freedom among all people.

On returning from a recent tour of Iraq, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat, wrote in the Wall Street Journal: "It is a war between 27 million and 10,000; 27 million Iraqis who want to live lives of freedom, opportunity and prosperity and roughly 10,000 terrorists who are either Saddam revanchists, Iraqi Islamic extremists or al-Qaida foreign fighters who know their wretched causes will be set back if Iraq becomes free and modern."

Lieberman broke rank with those of his fellow Democrats who are ready to appease the enemy, rather than bear the burden or pay the cost of protecting liberty that former president John Kennedy once preached.

But Canadians, in their winter of discontent, will likely remain preoccupied with domestic quarrels and wishes, however insignificant these are in the larger context of a world where evil is perpetrated by men -- as in Darfur -- and peril looms as Iran seeks to acquire nuclear capability.

The story of Iraq is a reminder that some people somewhere paid the price for those in democracy to enjoy freedom to choose how they will live and who will govern them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those who don't know who Salim Mansur is, he is a professor of political science at the University of Western Ontario. A Muslim, Mansur is one of Canada's strongest conservative voices and supporters of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, and a breath of fresh air amidst the smog of Canada's left-wing socialist media and academia. A rare bird up here indeed.

You can read Mansur's weekly TORONTO SUN columns here: [url="http://torontosun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Mansur_Salim/"]http://torontosun.canoe.ca/News/Columnists/Mansur_Salim/[/url]
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[tojo]

Wow, not what you ususally get from Canadians...

[Nathan]

You got that right. And a Canadian Muslim at that. Mansur is actually a noted Islamic scholar, quite serious about his faith.

[tojo]

Awesome, may such wonders never cease.