As I was furiously studying for finals a couple weeks ago, I looked up at the TV and saw one of those images that goes straight from the eyeballs to the heart. At the risk of sounding like a girly man, I don’t mind telling you that I got a little teary-eyed. On March 16, Iraq’s first democratically elected parliament was sworn in.
I got chills.
We are witnessing the birth of a new nation — a new republic to be a beacon of the light of liberty and a champion for human rights in a region that has recently been enslaved by fear and fanaticism.
The Iraqi parliament has not yet accomplished much, but that just means democracy is working. They’re arguing, they’re dragging their feet, they’re struggling to find compromise in a sea of conflict. They’re embroiled in the very essence of democracy. They’re learning that things move slowly in a democracy, and that building a coalition takes time.
On this side of the world, we’re learning something, too, from our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. We’re learning that the will to be free is at the heart of every man and woman. The desire to forge a free future transcends any ethnic or cultural boundaries that may separate us; it is at the very core of our humanity. The racist, ignorant notion that the Arab world “isn’t ready” for democracy has been exposed as a fallacy.
Is the situation in Iraq stable? Of course not. Democracy is a destabilizing influence; that doesn’t mean it’s not exactly what the region needs. After 30 years of sadistic totalitarianism, I think stability and preservation of the status quo is the last thing Iraq needs.
Democracy does not come without cost and struggle. Some point to the bombings in Baghdad as a sign that democracy is not taking root in Iraq, obviously ignorant the fact that our very own White House still has scorch marks from when the British torched the place in the War of 1812 — that was 23 years after the country ratified the Constitution. We had to fight not only to get our democracy, but also to keep our democracy. We too had to defend our capital
city from those who designed to
re-enslave us.
In 1776, Thomas Paine, one of America’s first best-selling authors, encouraged the continental army in “The American Crisis” with these words: “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.”
These famous words apply today just as they did then.
Over two decades ago, Ronald Reagan had the courage to dream of a world without the “evil empire,” at a time when few could even imagine the downfall of the Soviet Union. The fall of the Soviet Union was destabilizing, but it was good and necessary. So now George Bush dares to dream of a democratized Middle East.
Just try to imagine it. The Middle East used to be the center for art, culture and learning in the world. Out of this desert blossomed poetry and music the likes of which the world had never seen. The Middle East boasts accomplishments in math, science and philosophy. Also, the world’s second largest religion originated here. This is a beautiful place with beautiful people.
Imagine the oasis it could once again be if these people are allowed to reclaim their dignity and wrest control of their lives from the tyrants and despots who have been allowed to determine the region’s destiny for far too long.
This is the most exciting time to watch the Middle East since the advent of Israel in 1948. This is a great time to be alive and a great time to be a proponent of freedom and liberty.
People argue over which way the media is biased. The truth is, it’s split pretty much down the middle. Liberals tend to dominate newspapers and broadcast news, while Conservatives tend to dominate radio and cable news. In time, though, the day to day news cycles will fade and history will be left to tell the story of how democracy came to the Middle East.
And while George Bush is too busy making history to give much thought to how history will remember him, as a proud citizen of Pundit-Ville, I’d like to give imagining the future a shot.
I believe our children’s children will not read about a village idiot, they will read about a leader who fought for democracy. He will be compared to Reagan, Truman and JFK rather than to Johnson and Nixon. This war will be compared to World War II and the Cold War rather than to Vietnam. The history of democracy will post this one to the “W” column.

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