http://www.ntimc.org/newswire.php?story_id=1478Prior to elections in Afghanistan, U.S. politicians asked, “Are the people ready for democracy?” implying that life under the rule of a repressive regime had stunted their capacity for participating as free people in the running of their government.
In the reverse, those of us who are dismayed by officials’ and citizens’ conduct during recent U.S. elections are asking, “Have the citizens of the United States decided that authoritarian rule is to be preferred over Liberty?”
The public’s tolerance of flagrant violations of candidates’ and voters’ rights indicates yet another instance where sacrifice of individual rights has become acceptable, with the assumption, I suppose, that it will always be the other fellow’s rights that are sacrificed.
George W. Bush’s success in this election has been astounding, with much of the credit going to the commercial press and conservative religious coalition which performed like political arms of the Republican administration during his campaign.