Lots of folks on the christian kick to push the US style of capitalistic driven, monotheistic deomcracy into arab countries might be a little upset when they finally announce who won the election. Did they do that already or have I simply missed the coverage by the Mainstream Media Propaganda Machine?
Still reading Cornel West's book, Democracy Matters. Still don't know if anyone else is reading it. If so, could you let us know with a comment. I would hate to think I was the only one interested in West's strong and powerful writing.
Anyway, here's what West has to say about "democracy" in non-christian dominated countries.
Slice starts on page 37:
...Western-style democracy has no future in the Islamic world. The damage has been done, the wounds are deep, and the die has been cast by the hypocritical European and nihilistic American imperial elites. There is simply no way to turn back the hands of time. The West had its chance and blew it. Yet the future of deomcracy in the Islamic world may be bright if democratic notions of voice and rights, community and liberties, rotation of elites and autonomous civic spaces are couched in Islamic terms and traditions. Wesern-style democracies - themselves in need of repair - are but one number of the family of democracy. Yet all democracies share certain common features, such as the voices of the demos; rotating elites; free expression of religion, culture, and politics; and uncoerced spaces for civic life. But we can encourage the Socratizing of Islam and the prophetizing of the Muslim populace even as we dismatle empire at home.
End slice:
Humm, are the bushites smart enough, strong enough, and tolerant enough to embrace and foster an islamic based democracy? Time will be the judge, no?
Incidentially, while surfing, I found an interesting link to a potentially very powerful organization called Democracy Matters - different from Cornel West's book. Nonetheless, it looks like they may be on the right track.
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3 comments:
it's spelled "tolerant," not "tollerent" mr. phd.
-rock city
Why thankyou Rock City. I love it when folks point out spelling mistakes. One wonders how I made it through high school.
Hopefully, the fix works for all, and the message is not lost for it.
Straw man proposal''... all democracies share certain common features, such as the voices of the demos; rotating elites; free expression of religion, culture, and politics; and uncoerced spaces for civic life.'' -Cornel West
1. Gerrymandering, a prominent feature of US politics, makes ''rotating elites'' impossible.
2. ''... free expression of religion, culture, and politics; ...'' - Mom, the flag and apple pie.
3. ''... uncoerced spaces for civic life'' walks like words laid end to end, devoid of content.
A modest proposal for West' readersSee how much of West's text can be crossed out without changing his meaning.
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