IRAQI ELECTIONS
The fact that the Iraqi election on Sunday achieved a turnout of 60% of the electorate, despite widespread and serious death threats to the voters is remarkable. Churchill once said that democracy is an aweful way to run a country, but immeasurably better than any other system.
Democracy, which may be flawed, rarely comes easily, often only after the shedding of much blood, but the Iraqis seem willing to pay that price, which makes it all the more precious. It brings a sense of freedom and hope, and is aspired to all over the world. Even the almost ungovernable Afghanistan, democracy has taken root, and women are taking off their burkhas and finding a voice. From Latvia to the Ukraine, freedom and democracy are on the march, and from Armenia to Zimbabwe, despots and dictators are on the defensive.
In this country, sadly, we take our democracy for granted, many people just not bothering to make the effort, some prefering to join mass protests in an effort to defeat and drown out the expressed will of the people via democratically elected parliament. Ultimately, they can only lose.
