Declare Independence, by Martha Thomases – Brilliant Disguise | @MDWorld

July 6, 2013 Martha Thomases 6 Comments

I don’t know what to think about this week’s events in Egypt.  On the one hand, the people (mostly) peaceably assembled to express their displeasure with the government.  On the other hand, the government they were protesting was democratically elected.  On the other hand, it was a theocratic government systematically denying rights to women and other minorities.  On the other hand, I don’t like it when the military deposes a government.  On the other hand, it seems as if the Muslim Brotherhood is now discredited.  On the other hand, this might allow the success of an even more extreme party.

As you can see, even counting my feet and all of my cat’s paws, we are rapidly running out of hands here.

 

 

As an American celebrating Independence Day all weekend, I appreciate the fact that I live in a more or less democratic society.  Yeah, the Supreme Court has determined that corporations are people, and money can sway the stupid, and the stupid get to vote, but that’s what democracy means.  At its best, this situation forces us to get along.

At its worst, it is the House of Representatives in 2013, where it is considered a mark of honor to hold to one’s principles (which consist mostly of obstructing Obama) to the point that nothing whatsoever gets done..

Similar to our own Tea Party candidates in 2010, Morsi was elected to make some sense out of the economy, and instead spent his energies on his socially conservative agenda.  The protests sprang up because the Egyptian economy did not improve.

I’m still not sure his ouster is a good thing.

It’s easy for those of us in the West to tut-tut the behavior of other countries that don’t have our advantages of wealth and the free exchange of ideas.  It’s also easy to be condescending, to overlook bad behavior in the name of “cultural” differences.

Denying one’s fellow citizens basic rights and protections under the law is not a cultural difference. It’s an offense against freedom and liberty.

My mother, in her capacity as a member of the ACLU (as well as being my mother) taught me that the mark of a democracy is not that everyone gets to vote, or that the person with the most votes wins, but that the rights of the minorities are protected.  I did not know this idea did not come from her, but from others. Still, it makes sense to me, and not just because it was my mom.  As Digby says:

“Democracy and constitutional liberalism are not interchangeable ideas, any more than democracy and free markets are. Constitutional liberalism with protections for women and minorities, equality under the law, freedom of speech and worship, and all the other benefits we associate with modern democracies do not necessarily arise from democracy. These things must be built and enacted piece by piece–often in spite of the majority will of citizens.”

There are all kinds of crazy laws that would be on the books if the will of the (voting) majority was the only thing that mattered.  I have no doubt that we would have a national religion, mandatory prayer in schools, and no minimum wage, workplace protection or food safety laws, and no laws against sexual harassment in the workplace.

It is my opinion (or at least, my hope) that we enjoy the freedoms that we have, and appreciate the struggles of those who put their lives on the line for them, even in the face of opposition from those in authority, here and abroad.

Here’s hoping that Egypt has a chance to experience the same freedoms we enjoy.  In fact, here’s hoping they learn from our examples and show us how to do it better.

Martha Thomases, Media Goddess, lives in a city where the mayor thinks sparklers are a bad thing.  Sparklers!