Exporting a deeply flawed democracy [Archives:2005/812/Letters to the Editor]

Mario Caldarone
[email protected]
This is an excerpt from an article by Russell Whitehead that I want to share with you:

We have constantly been touting the virtues of democracy as loudly as we can to all who will listen and even some that won't.

Now, make no mistake about it, there is certainly much good to say about a properly functioning democracy. But it is no panacea. Even in the rich and highly educated United States it faces serious challenges that, if unchecked, could lead to collapse under its own weight. And it is not real clear how it will do in poor nations. I will not try to address these comparatively minor items.

But there is an issue that demands an immediate answer because it exposes an existing fatal flaw in the concept of democracy as we know it. The question is this: How did a tiny little country 2% of the size of the big, rich and powerful United States gain full control of our democracy? Obvious corollary questions are: Can it be prevented from happening again? If so, how? That is what changes in the structure of our democracy need to be implemented to make its reoccurrence impossible?

Meanwhile we are out selling a deeply flawed product to other countries, forcing it down their throats if they show reluctance to buy. Shouldn't we at least fix this critical problem before foisting democracy off on other nations? Or do we purposely sell it that way because we know the secret formula for buying off democracies and it's to our advantage? I truly wonder.
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