Global survey shows rejection of U.S. idea of democracy

[babylonsister]

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/27/news/democracy.php

Global survey shows rejection of U.S. idea of democracy
By Meg Bortin
Published: June 27, 2007


PARIS: Americans have historically held out democracy to the world as a value they cherish and a model of how to create a great nation.

But now the world has sent back an unflattering message. Asked by the Pew Global Attitudes Survey whether they liked or disliked American ideas about democracy, respondents in many countries replied in the negative, sometimes overwhelmingly so.

The result appeared to indicate that people in other nations are superimposing U.S. behavior abroad on the concept of democracy, tarnishing one of America's bedrock values, analysts said.

snip//

Senior statesmen and commentators in several key countries, asked about the result, said the findings mainly reflected discontent with U.S. foreign policy under President George W. Bush.

"I think that for people across the world today it is totally impossible to distinguish between America's ideas about democracy, the Bush administration's foreign policy, and Iraq," said Hubert Védrine, former foreign minister of France, where 76 percent of respondents expressed dislike for American-style democracy - more than in any country except Turkey.

"If you say 'American democracy,' that means the American idea that you can export democracy by force,' Védrine said. "People are against this."

For the world's image of American democracy to improve, he added, "I think it requires a new presidency. It is impossible with Bush."

more...

[Cha]

1. The bushits are bona fide Fascists

and anyone who can't see that..don't know dick.

[Mist]

3. I think there's a bumper sticker in there somewhere--"If you think the

Bush Presidency is working, you don't know Dick."

[mcscajun]

7. Shorten it up *just* a tiny bit; fit it onto two lines:

Think the Bush Presidency is working?
You don't know Dick.

:hi:

[Mist]

9. Yes, much better! Thanks! nt

[Cha]

8. And Jon Stewart's The Daily Show has

a new segment debuted the other night called..TA DA, "YOU DON'T KNOW DICK"

[patrice]

2. The basic meme is "Dishonesty"

Other countries don't even have to know very much about us. They don't even have to know how many different ways we are not what we say we are. The one thing that they do most likely know: The U.S. has invaded and occupied another country under false pretenses, is ACCURATELY emblematic of everything about us

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Do we have an oligarchic democracy? Or, a democratic oligarchy?

The idea of "government of the people, by the people, for the people" is certainly not descriptive of what we now have.

[Spazito]

5. Good article, it clarifies it is US foreign policy that is being

rejected, not the people of the US themselves. There are some who will read this and try, wrongly, to say this polls says those countries hate Americans, I suspect at least one post will show up here with that mistaken impression, I hope I am wrong in that suspicion.

Thanks for posting this, the clarity re foreign policy is an important one, imo.

[partylessinOhio]

6. None of this would have happened if our elected President Gore

had been inaugurated.