Freedom Is Not Free...

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...or easy. The quest for it, though, is innate to our human souls. Whether or not you agree with President Bush on all of his policies (I certainly do not), you cannot argue that he is absolutely correct in saying that a stable democracy in Iraq would be a disaster to the evil jihadis.

The problem now is that our modern culture of immediate gratification is not able to comprehend or handle the concept of a true struggle. We want our wars wrapped up in fifteen minutes and we don't want to hear about any difficulties. Just go in there and impose democracy and let's get out. This is worsened by the media's efforts to discredit the President and help the liberals, who are chomping at the bit to surrender this war as soon as possible.

Why, we always hear, hasn't the perfect democracy yet been created in Iraq? Why, they whine, is there so much "sectarian" violence going on? If we are really making progress, they cry, why can't our military come home now?

Because, children, we have a very, very tough job to do... and we're not leaving until it's done. It will be done, so long as we decide- AS A NATION- that we will do it. That is the secret... because there is nothing that America cannot accomplish when it collectively wants to. If the liberals and the media would stop trying to tell us we can't do this and we can't do that... well, then, we could get on with the business at hand- and thereby hasten our people coming home for good.

Anyway, I found a great column on democracy's costs by Salim Mansur- here's part of it:

[[ Democracy never arrived anywhere impeccable and fully dressed. Not in ancient Greece, nor in modern Europe and North America.

Democracy is a tedious process, often flawed, requiring patient work for improvement and a lot of luck. Democracy is a journey, rarely a destination to step down and call it over.

It is a messy journey, frequently accompanied with disquiet, often beginning in quarrels amidst smoke and blood, and no one is ever content with the nature of the journey, the direction taken or the distance travelled.

But whatever the discontent, there is a near global consensus, today painfully reached, that despite democracy's flaws there is no better alternative. ]]

That is a fact. Here's the whole thing for you:

Democracy Can Heal

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