| Spanky |
07-15-2005 06:52 PM |
Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Someone who is actually in Yemen is reporting that that is what he or she sees. You leap to the conclusion that he or she does not think Arabs should aspire to democracy -- a notion completely unsupported by his or her writing -- and you dismiss as "indefensible" the notion that what Yemenis actually think and do might be different from what you think they ought to be aspiring to. This sort of pie-in-the-sky, rose-colored wishful thinking is exactly what got us into trouble in Iraq -- maybe you've noticed already that the Iraqis to whom we were bringing democracy were somewhat less grateful than we expected? -- and is a real threat to the actual project of making the world a better place. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
It's moving for me. Get yourself a frappucino.
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When someone says that Arabs want democracy about as much as they want a hole in the head that leads me to believe that they don't think democracy is really in the cards right now or in the near future. Call me crazy.
I never said it was indefensible that Yemenis were not aspring to what I thought they should be aspiring to. I never said they should aspire to anything. I just said that quote was indensible. How many time do I have to use the quote before you read it? The quote I was using talked about "Arabs". You are aware that there is a distinction between Arabs and Yeminis.
The Iraqis may not be that grateful but that is besides the point. The problem in Iraq is not that the Arabs (and Kurds) don't want democracy, it is that they don't think the United States really intends to bring democracy. That is a huge distinction.
I think most Arabs want democracy and I have never seen any sort of evidence that they don't. Every time a real election is held, from Morocco, to Alergia, to Iraq to Kuwait the turnout is amazing. So when she says - Arabs want democracy as much as they want a hole in their head - she is just flat wrong - and all the evidence points to the fact that she is wrong. I am pretty sure most Yemenis want democracy, but even if it were true that they did not, extrapolating that all Arabs don't want Democracy from her experience in Yemen is like me saying most Americans are very tolerant of Homosexuals after spending the weekend in San Francisco.
How can you defend the statement: "Arabs want democracy about as much as they want a hole in the head". |
