Democracy, and its detractors

On the news this morning they had stories of policemen in Tampa being killed, women being kidnapped in North Georgia and storms in the Atlantic, the Gulf and across the great plains of America. The story which caught my eye was the attempt by the Afghan government to hold an election.

Apparently, the second free elections were scheduled for today in Afghanistan. The last time the Afghan government held free elections, the turnout was amazing. It really put our elections to shame, as far as participation. But this time was different. The Taliban, that conservative, radical Islamic group which has wreaked havoc throughout the middle east and was a big part of the reason we went into Afghanistan in the first place, due to their attempts to clear Afghan culture of any non-fundamental Islamic elements, attempted to reduce the participation of Afghan citizens from the election.

The Taliban, which wants to gain greater control over Afghan culture, and is willing to do almost anything to accomplish this task, is willing to shut off the exercise of Afghan free will through acts of terrorism. They are willing to cut off dissent by violence. In the Afghan elections, voters were required to place ink on their thumbs and make a mark on their ballot to show that the individual voters had completed their votes. The Taliban promised to cut off the thumbs of anyone they found with ink on their thumbs.

This is the same regime which tried to reduce the civil liberties and channel the thinking of an entire nation by destroying statuary in the desert which was placed thousands of years ago by believers in a different theological construct. Statues which meant very little to the Afghan people other than providing a historical background for their national heritage. Stupid acts which merit nothing and provide no positive action in any way, theological, ethical, political or otherwise.

How different are the civil liberties we are allowed in this country, thanks to founding fathers who sought to protect the rights of the citizenry to think as they chose and to retain the freedom of conscience. We must guard and protect the rights of our citizens to think differently from us, no matter how different or obnoxious to our own thoughts and beliefs. We must educate our children and teach them as we see fit. But we must not choose to act, as the Taliban, to eradicate any dissent or thought which differentiates from our own, no matter how serious or trivial.

A pile of severed ink-stained thumbs, crumbled historical artifacts and broken bodies lying in hospital beds is the legacy of the effort to control the beliefs and conscience of these nations.