Another viewpoint.

• Author: Mildon, Marsha
• Position: Editorial

Given the vagaries of printing, mailing, and other such schedules, I am writing this Viewpoint on Sunday, January 23, 2005. It is a rather remarkable moment to be writing anything about democracy or democratically engaged citizens.

Perhaps most significant on the world stage, last week George Bush Jr. was sworn in for his second term as President of the United States, and spoke, in his inaugural speech, setting out his Agenda for Freedom including the following:

"America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government, because no one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave. Advancing these ideals is the mission that created our Nation. It is the honorable achievement of our fathers. Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation's security, and the calling of our time."

Even ignoring the touch of historical amnesia regarding masters and slaves, I am not enormously reassured that any American president feels that America's interests and beliefs include the freedom and rights of every person in the world ... except perhaps those few gays who want to be married; Americans who want universal health care or more money spent on education and social security; Iraqis who don't want a McDemocracy; and a few insignificant others. Organizing freedom for the world is a big task. Again, if one remembered the examples of history, one might remember that no empire has ever managed it before.

The most current example of the difficulties is playing out in Iraq. In a mere seven days, we will see an attempt at an election in Iraq for a 275-member Transitional National Assembly (TNA). Iraq does not have the foundation organizations, the locally generated community organizations--often described as the organizations of civil society--that are the foundation blocks of democracy. Instead, the "Coalition of the Willing" is attempting to drop democracy from above on a nation deeply divided by ethnic and religious differences. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, insurgent leader, claims that democracy is the foundation for an "un-Islamic" state (www.cbc.ca) and calls on Sunni Moslems to attack anyone, especially the Shia Moslems, who dares to vote. Given the ongoing violence--approximately...