Monday, February 21, 2011

STOP WITH THE PRO DEMOCRACY CRAP

It's time for the media to stop referring to all the opposition movements in Egypt, Libya etc., as "pro-democracy" movements.  They are NOT pro democracy movements  because those protesting don't know what democracy is in the first place.  How can you be said to be protesting "for" something when you have no idea what it is?  It also leads to the assumption that as soon as the dictators are ousted, democracy will be put in operation that same day.  We have been working on democracy for over 200 years and the chaos in our own country proves that we haven't yet figured it out entirely.  As the media continues to use this incorrect description of events in the Middle East, it only serves to further confuse our own, somewhat uninformed, people, and works to create false expectations and false hopes, that may cause us to lower our guard.  We should not forget that many of the people in that region hate us and wish us harm.  Don't ever think that they will somehow adopt democracy and become like us in any way.
Perhaps, the term "pro-change" movement is better.  That at least accounts for the reality that we don't really know what is going to take hold in these countries.  Maybe it will be a form of democracy, some day, but, certainly not immediately.  The uneducated masses in Egypt, Libya and the rest of the Middle Eastern countries currently experiencing upheaval, wouldn't know democracy if it jumped up and slapped them in the face.  It's time for the media to stop using terminology that is inaccurate at best, and confusing at the least.

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