August 4, 2004
R. D. Kushner

Pundits, politicians, and citizens of America have just a few things on their minds regarding the upcoming November elections; and at least one of them is national security. Tied into that concern is of course the security of Iraq; for if we follow the current administration’s argument carefully, it has been explicitly stated that a safe and secure Iraq will help keep us safe here at home. So we’re hoping for a Democratic Iraq. But hoping isn’t going to be enough. If it were, we would have just collectively-hoped really hard just over a year ago and wouldn’t have had to invade Iraq at all. Whether or not that strategy would have worked will never be known; but we do know that a quick military fix was either bungled, not planned well enough, or simply an impossibility which Americans chose to ignore. Either way, here we are, still hoping for Democracy in Iraq; without knowing just how to win the peace, and realizing that it is more elusive than simply a proclamation of “Mission Accomplished,” this wishful thinking isn’t getting us very far. But I know something that will; and it is something far easier, and with much broader implications both globally and here at home.

The best thing we can do to help usher Democracy into the middle East is to exercise our own Democracy right here at home. If we can show Iraq, and the rest of the world that Democracy works then we can help restore not only our reputation, but the reputation of Democracy; its flexibility, its promise of freedom, and its rule of law. The choice is clear. John Kerry, or George W. Bush. The presumed contrasts between these two men are not as great as their parties or the media suggest; but what is clear is that George W. Bush has set a record of Democratic subversion that would have made Josef Stalin proud. In a Democracy, one would expect that such behavior would be intolerable.

In November, we have an opportunity to show Iraq and the rest of the world that given the opportunity to have a referendum on George W. Bush’s presidency, that we will remove him from office and show the world how a true Democracy functions. This will prove to Iraqis that Democracy works; and this will help them to see the value of implementing this new social and governmental system slowly into their traditional values and culture – making us safer from terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere in the world. This will also prove to the rest of the world that Democracy works; and this will help rebuild our alliances and foster international cooperation – which will make everyone safer from terrorists all over the world. Let’s show the world that in a Democracy there is accountability; show the world that Democracy isn’t just a word used in America to justify its way of doing things; show the world that Democracy is a process that sows free will and real opportunity to people of all economic classes – particularly the working class, the poor, and the oppressed. Vote for John Kerry in November; he’s not George W. Bush. Vote, and hope, for Democracy.