Sharon @ home

Yesterday, I turned on the car radio for a few minutes. The secretary of state was talking about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, she said that securing democracy is the most important thing.

At that moment, I just had to ask: “why?” What is it about democracy that makes it the only acceptable form of government these days? Sure, I like democracy. I prefer for all people to have a say in the way things are run in their own countries. But it hasn’t always been that way. I wish I knew more history. Isn’t it true that just about all countries had a monarchy or something along those lines before the magna carta?

I know that there were benevolent despots in some countries. And I’m sure there were plenty of malevolent despots too. I just found myself wondering if any country, that wasn’t a democracy, had ever attacked another country because it didn’t like the way they treated their citizens. These days democratic countries seem to think that democracy is the only way to go and everyone has to go that way or they will be forced to change. Actually, I guess it’s really just the USA who follows through all the way to forcing, but you know what I mean.

Another thing that occurs to me about this is; God established monarchies, so he must not have thought they were all bad. And yet the US religious right seems to think this democracy crusade is directed by God. Sure, Jesus seems to value all people equally, but he rendered unto Caesar what was Caesar’s including government. He didn’t overthrow the oppressive government, he taught people to live with the government they had.

All this is not to say that I think the unlucky folks suffering under tyrannical governments just need to put on a happy face. I just don’t know for sure that the USA is really called to go bomb them into democracy.

I know it sounds like I’m pressing an agenda here, but I have way too many questions for that. At least on this optic. Right now.

I just don’t follow the logic of the religious right that seems to think that they are required by God to destroy peace in a quest for democracy.

peace,

Sharon