INDEPENDENCE, INTERDEPENDENCE, or DEPENDENCE?
Two hundred and thirty five years ago, from 1776 to this 4th of July, the Declaration of Independence established certain principals, rights, and truths to be self-evident, and declared American independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, in favor of establishing a democracy of, by, and for the people. The insight that “all men are created equal” can only be reasonably understood today to apply to all people on earth.
The following stirring piece points up a comparison between the U.S. attempts to impose democracy from without, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the push for democracy from within, by the citizens of Egypt and Tunisia.
The takeaway? This Independence Day, as I register how deeply I value independence for myself, I can also value it just as much for everyone else, whether it is my neighbor across the street or across the ocean. Isn't it a contradiction to impose democracy upon others by military force? Democracy, always a fragile work in progress, flourishes as much by the interdependence of mutual respect as it does by the independence America celebrates annually with marching bands and fireworks. If we decide to set aside war, "power over," in favor of cooperation, "power with," imagine what new ways will emerge to encourage the development of real democracy -- not only abroad, but right here at home.
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EXPERIMENT IN DEMOCRACY
A Guest Editorial By Joseph Gainza
Rarely does history present us with eventswhich resemble a scientific experiment. Events in the Middle East over the last nine years, but especially in 2011, give us an opportunity to examine how best to establish democracy. Analysis of what has recently taken place in Tunis and Egypt can be measured against the ongoing tragedies of Iraq and Afghanistan.
With Iraq and Afghanistan, the reasons the Bush and Obama Administrations have given for the US invasions and continuing occupations have shifted over the years. We are now told that our soldiers and Marines are killing and dying in Afghanistan and Iraq to bring democracy to those nations.
While it was not the US government’s original intent or justification for the invasions, I believe that most of the troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan (some have served in both countries) believe that their sacrifices are intended to bring freedom and democracy to these tortured lands.
The people in the streets in Tunisia and Egypt, it is quite clear, are willing to disrupt their daily lives, their national economies, their entire society; they are facing the possibility of arrest, injury or even death to establish freedom and democracy in their land. So we are justified in using the successful establishment of democracy, in countries where it did not before exist, to measure the appropriateness and effectiveness of two very different modes of operation.
After eight years of war in Iraq and nine years in Afghanistan, the killing of over 5,000 US men and women in uniform, with over 100,000 severely wounded, with hundreds of soldiers from allied countries killed and wounded, with the killing of scores of thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis, mostly civilian, and the killing of countless Pakistanis, neither Iraq nor Afghanistan have anything resembling democratic governments and the fragile democracy of Pakistan is on the brink of collapse. Even after the expenditure of US resources rapidly approaching three trillion dollars, what we have in both occupied countries is a hollow shell, a thin façade of what our government insists on calling democracy. And the killing continues.
In Tunisia and Egypt we see a very different approach to establishing democracy. Tunisians and Egyptians, fed up with the dictatorships which billions of dollars in US military aid helped to maintain, went into the streets and within a month achieved non-violent revolutions. This cannot be stressed enough; both Tunisia and Egypt are further along the road to democracy than either Iraq or Afghanistan through the power of nonviolent action, not the violence of military force. Yes, there were deaths in both countries, less than 400 total and most observers testify that the major cause of death were the actions of the repressive governments and their paid supporters.
Tunisians and Egyptians understood that the most secure road to democracy is through the practice of direct democracy. They employed the power of the people (the literal definition of “democracy”) in direct, non-violent action on the streets to bring about the downfall of dictators.
We fail to learn the lessons of these amazing achievements at our peril. As citizens of a democracy under siege we can take lessons from our Arab brothers and sisters that democracy is more than voting every two or four years. It is more than waiting for elected leaders to fulfill their campaign promises. It includes a healthy skepticism of elected and unelected power, in the form of mega business corporations, financial institutions, and leaders who promote fear of and anger toward our fellow citizens. We can remember that democracy, real democracy, not just electoral democracy takes effort, it is what happens between elections, it does not run on automatic and, if we are willing to send our sons and daughters to war to achieve it in someone else’s country, we should be at least willing to exercise it here at home.
We should also be willing to spend our treasure on it. We should examine our national budget to see if it invests in the necessary elements for building and preserving democracy, or if it tosses our tax dollars at the vain attempt to achieve “national security” through domination and control enforced by the use or threat of military violence.
This question, although unacknowledged on all sides, is what underlies the debate over how to reduce budget deficits: how do we “secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity”? Do we invest in programs which strengthen people’s ability to live decent, secure lives? Do we help build their capacity to be active and concerned citizens? Or do we put more and more of our treasure at the service of a bloated military, and weapons manufacturers who keep promoting the next weapon system as the securer of our freedom and democracy?
The Tunisian and Egyptian people have demonstrated that it is not weapons and violence which secure democracy; it is people willing to exercise their power non-violently. They know freedom is not free and they are willing to put their trust in the power of organized, concerted, sustained non-violent action. Perhaps, as in Wisconsin, it is time we experiment with that.
Joseph Gainza is the contact for Vermont Action for Peace and host of WGDR’s Gathering Peace (Tuesdays 8:30-10:00am. 91.1 FM.www.wdgr.org). Contact: 802-522-2376 or jgainza@vtlink.net.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE:
Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate: “Eliminating nuclear weapons is the democratic wish of the world’s people. Yet no nuclear-armed country currently appears to be preparing for a future without these terrifying devices.” “The unspeakable human suffering that they inflict is the same whatever flag they may bear.” “….cooperation is seen as the best guarantor of international peace.”
Read whole article here: http://www.truth-out.org/ending-nuclear-evil/1309700520
Dr. Robert Dodge, PSR, BW: “The fact that we have survived and are alive today is not a matter of deterrence but rather due to luck. Luck is not a security policy.” “It is a fallacy to believe that individuals cannot make a difference. We all have our spheres of influence and the opportunity to speak up. Ultimately, only concerned individuals working together have brought about social change. I invite anyone who is concerned about these issues to join us. Each individual brings their own concerns and skill sets to the issue.” Read whole article here:
http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/an_ambassador_for_peace_and_security/8965/
VIDEOS YOU CAN CHOOSE:
300+ short films from 44 different countries submitted for the FourYears.Go contest to depict our possible future - Click, view, vote: http://awakeningthedreamer.org/vote-for-a-possible-future/v