Looking Back Upon Natan Sharansky's " The Case for Democracy"
Posted: Tuesday, November 25, 2008
by Jennifer Cuddy
The book The Case for Democracy by Natan Sharansky was used by the Bush administration as pro - Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL) propaganda based on the premise that all people want to be free from authoritarian governments. Sharansky makes a compelling argument regarding the universality of human nature choosing "...freedom, not tyranny; democracy; not dictatorship; the rule of law, not the rule of the secret police." In reading this passage, I can not help but wonder how Natan Sharansky feels about the American Imperialism that is overwhelming Iraq at this time. The very freedom that it had promised to the Iraqi people has manifested in the exact opposite - for the Iraqi people are wanting freedom from America - which is an ironic statement in retrospect.
What good is our Western Democracy when it is enforced upon a society that is offended by its values? Is this not the very definition of authoritarianism, imperialism, and tyranny? Will we call it a Democracy once Iraq is littered with Starbucks and McDonalds? What has happened to our respect for ancient cultures when we allow and encourage the destruction of museums and art? I also fear how these acts will effect the mentality of American troops whence they return.
Looking back upon Natan Sharansky's Case for Democracy is an eye opening, albeit sad vision of emphatic naive optimism. I wonder if the author feels betrayed by this injustice. If I were a journalist, I would love to interview him, however it would pain me to do so. Is it not obvious that they hate us now more then ever?
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More commentsThis is based on nothing but simple minded conjecture.A word for you to learn:1con·jec·turePronunciation:\kən-ˈjek-chər\Function:nounEtymology:Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin conjectura, from conjectus, past participle of conicere, literally, to throw together, from com- + jacere to throw — more at jetDate:14th century1obsolete a: interpretation of omens b: supposition2 a: inference from defective or presumptive evidence b: a conclusion deduced by surmise or guesswork c: a proposition (as in mathematics) before it has been proved or disprovedHmm..interesting that you feel that international news and first hand accounts are conjectureOh, excuse me..Of course you must think all news except...lol :)
Oh, and even more ( or should I say frightening ) that you might think that Abu Ghraib was all conjecture.Now that is what I call news! lol
No you and your point of view are not based on first hand experience. I watched the same documentary but choose not to write a blog about nothing but CONJECTURE on my part as you have.Okay. However I must say that the article itself makes no mention of only one documentary. There are hundreds, as well as many news reports and witness testimonies world wide. This is not new news, and so it suprises me to hear that there are people out there who do not know these things. You can certainly choose not to believe them however.Thanks for stopping by,JenniferHow am I to know what you write or not write about when you do not reveal your name? Does that sound like someone who is speaking the truth? I think I will believe what I see and read in all of the documentaries and news reports from 60 minutes, CNN, Time, BBC, Aljezzera, et al.And especially when all of these sources all say the same thing.
It is not that I do not believe the items took place. I am saying you have no meat to your article. It is as if you read something and did no research but pretend you know what you are talking about. Your points are pure Conjecture on your part. Hey I watched CNN and saw a BBC broadcast saying The Polar ice caps are melting, now I am the expert. Sounds Silly right? If so then you get my point otherwise you never will; which is sad for us all because you will continue to think your writing is saying more than my 5 year old son could tell me about the world and life.Well, all I can say is that you might want to take heed that the Polar ice caps are melting... LOLBut again, you can continue to believe what you want.I wonder what broadcasts that you do believe? Hmm..For now, I will have to take their word against a "someone" who does not even reveal his identity.Because you make no claims to it, I will assume that your arguments are of pure "conjecture". For again, if I am not able to evaluate your articles, I have no proof to base your claim that you only write what are facts, however you deem them to be so.Wow! Word of the day here..LOL
And for the record, if you do so happen to read my article, you will find that I have indeed done much research on the matter...in the forms of documentaries, footage, newscasts, and eyewitness testimonies.Guess what? I also was not at the World Trade Cener on 9/11, do not know anyone that was or near the World Trade Center on 9/11..but I do know for a fact that it did occur. How do I know this? Well, for the very same reasons that I know that the crimes of Abu Ghraib did occur, and that the Holocaust occurred, etc...And these facts are used as the basis of my argument or "meat" as it were. LOL
Lastly, the only way that your comments make any logical sense, is if you believe that my sources of imformation are not credible, and that the news they spread are "conjectures" and not facts, as you are implying; for it is from these that I am drawing my conclusions and arguments.It makes no sense to say that my article is one of conjecture, when you believe that the information is correct.Now, we can continue on with this if you like..I thoroughly enjoy using reason to support my claims. :)
Hey Anonymous I have a word for you to learnJerkan annoyingly stupid or foolish person b: an unlikable person ; especially : one who is cruel, rude, or small-minded
So tell us what makes you such an angry critic?Hi Jimmy,Thanks for sticking up for me, but this guy makes no sense.. and by using logic, I have unveiled his contradictions. This is exercise! LOLNo worries,:)
Also, I have never proclaimed myself to be an expert. Had he said that my conclusion was one of opinion, rather than the word conjecture, then I would say "yes, it is my opinion, as I have so stated. It is my opinion based upon the facts that I have gathered ( which he agreed were facts) through research. This is called "commentary".New word for the day:Commentary : noun, plA series of explanatory notes or remarks made based on observations
hi jennifer,this was a well written, intelligent and interesting article.how about this: if we weren't in Iraq, you wouldn't have been able to write this article, and we have no business being there!my son goes into the air force soon, and although i hope his training in electronics helps him when he gets back, i first have to pray every second that he does come back, and that he isn't forever jaded. he is sweet and caring and interesting and very intelligent, and loving. if he doesn't come back the same, i'll say good-bye to you before i go over!Thank God for God, and for prayer,my best to you,sueHi Sue,I will hope and pray that your son will too. Some of the smartest people I know were in the air force. I'm sure that with such a loving and insightful mother, that he will not stray too far from that. Will he be going to Iraq? If he goes into electronics, that will be great training for when he gets out. Just keep on pushing him to take classes while he is in the military. He can take classes through the University of Maryland on base, if I am not mistaken. And that should be available everywhere for recruits. It is part of their benefits. Look into it! Make sure he takes advantage of every opportunity that he can while he is in. Squeeze it for all it is worth! They owe it too him!my best to you as well,Jenniferhi jennifer,to thine own self be true. and your responses were, good for you.i know you are smart enough not to let criricism bother you, but this person was a little much. talk about going to war!yes, my son is planning on taking advantage of every class he can. he was in the top 2% of those who took the entrance exam, and i'm sure will do very well.the recruiters do NOT tell you if you're going to Iraq. he first goes to san antonio, texas for bootcamp, and somewhere else i'm not sure of for 9 months of vo tech, and then probably to japan. i'm proud of his decision, but a mother worries 25 hours out of the day. at least i do, times 3! now i'm worrying about the bad weather coming soon, and my 18 year old driving in it. he didn't have a car last year, so hasn't had any experience. once it does snow, my partner will take him to a parking lot and practice with him, but i worry if it starts snowing or icing while he's at school, and has to drive home.it's always something, but hey-it's life, and i just handle it as it comes along.you have a good week,and keep up this writing!,my best to you,sue
p.s. there's no indication that this anon was a male:)I don't know..But the tone sounds very masculine to me.weird. That's all I can say.On the snow and ice..lolI know what you are saying. I used to live in Maine and Minnesota! :)That would be great for him to go to Japan though. How exciting! I will pray for him to stay out of harms way. And I do hope we pull our troops out of Iraq asap. If not, then we will have to stay there forever as a police state. We should have set a better example of ourselves when we were there. I don't think that any of them will ever get over Abu Ghraib.And I think that we are weakening our military by setting up camp there. Our home base is a sitting duck now, thanks to Bush, et. alThank you very much for coming by,Jennifer :)
I wonder is the author ever traveled to Iraq to witness first hand the oppression, misery and mass graves left by Sadam Hussein? I would highly doubt it. She is no doubt a liberal elitist who has been fed gobbly gook propaganda from liberal college professors (that is if she attended college). I suggest the author plans herself a trip to Iraq to ask the people do they prefer the freedom they have today (thanks to President Bush) or would they rather have Dictator Sadam Hussein back in power!! I rest my case!!oh yes, all those liberal college professors...you can't get any worse than that!
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