Kelly Davies
Staff Writer
I read the headlines in the weeks before. I heard about the precautions being taken. I saw the names of those killed — American, Iraqi, British — all in the name of democracy. And when Jan. 30 rolled around, I glanced at CNN’s coverage of the Iraqi election and thought briefly to myself, “Thank God.”
But really, for what do I have to be thankful?
I attended Dr. Michael Novak’s lecture, “Religion and Democracy: The Case of Islam,” at the Drescher campus auditorium, and I knew what it was — I was thankful for the meaning of Jan. 30.
The election results aren’t tallied yet — maybe by the time this is published they will be — but it looks like the insurgents, those who threatened to kill, bomb, execute potential voters, are now the minority.
But we all know they won’t simply stand aside. It is going to be an on-going mission to keep freedom alive, one that will require the heart, soul, and often, lives, of many Iraqis.
“The price of liberty is everlasting vigilance,” Novak said.
The task is hard. Some might say utopian. Someone in the auditorium had asked — Is it possible for Iraq to support such a quick change to democracy without having institutions that support it?
“People learn out of force and necessity what it takes generations to learn otherwise,” Novak replied.
It is going to take a lot for Iraq to come together. But we have to have hope that the Iraqis have a chance. Whatever your thoughts about the justification of the war, it is hard not to justify an election where voter turnout even in the most desperate of times — when voters are threatened not with the candidate they disagree with but with death — is higher than U.S. turnout in the most peaceful of times.
Not long ago, many didn’t expect much for Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, they have a chance. For all the criticism the United States receives — some rightly so regarding the strategies in Iraq — we do deserve, as Novak noted, to take some joy in those flaunting their purple-ink-stained fingers who now face some positive alternatives to tyranny.
Transcending politics, we are faced with the reality that the Middle East’s prospects for democracy could be what’s on this century’s agenda. There is no denying the threat of terrorism. The truth is, as Novak said, tyranny leads to abuse and aggression and democratic peoples prefer liberty and peace to war. Get to the root of terrorism, not by simply killing terrorists but by giving them prospects for democracy, and move one step forward to stopping it.
So whatever your politics are, recognize the human right — make that need — for liberty, and just how precious it is. May all of us — not just the Americans, but the world — never forget what it takes to keep it, and just how thankful we should be for it. You can bet the Iraqis won’t soon forget.
2-10-2005