Democracy is not enough. It is a cornerstone, but democracy itself is not what creates a free nation. Freedom does that. Majority rule can lead to tyranny just as minority rule can. In February of 2011, we saw Egypt's dictator step-down after 18 days of civil unrest, demonstration and violence. One year after Morsi was democratically elected, Egypt is still not free. Freedom of religion and speech - the first two freedoms provisioned in the United States Constitution's First Amendment are
absent in Egypt. Without freedom, democracy is simply a tool for the majority to control the minority. Tyranny cloaked with a democratic shield.
Update: On July 3rd,
Morsi was forced out of control through a military coup d'eta. The Egyptian constitution was subsequently suspended, removing any freedoms promised through it. Certainly, Mubarak was a dictator, and he used a
"growing presence of torture and corruption" to quell his enemies. Nonetheless, the minority religious sect of
Coptic Christians were safer under Mubarak than Morsi. Where does Egypt go from here? Will democracy be scrapped? Will Egypt elect a secular leader, or once again a theocrat? The Muslim Brotherhood was voted in by a slim majority. It would seem democracy chooses theocracy in Egypt, yet the minority is protected by the military. And as Mao once noted,
"Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun."
US Declaration of Independence Preamble
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
The United States suffered severely by not granting all men equality. The Confederation declared secession from the United States in 1861, and the ensuing civil war claimed over 600,000 lives. The slaves were freed at a devastating cost, yet it took another 100 years before equality of
all men was granted with the passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Martin Luther King - I Have a Dream
"I have a dream, that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!"
Morsi's constitution was signed into law on December 26, 2012. Article 2 establishes Islam as the state religion and that Shari'a is the foundation of legislation. Article 45 provisions freedom of speech, yet insulting someone is prohibited in Article 31. Article 44 prohibits insulting religious messengers and prophets. Article 48 guarantees freedom of the press, as long as it is "in accordance with the basic principles of the State and society." Given that Shari'a is the state's foundation of legislation, the freedom to publish is quarantined by religious law. Women are not equal in Egypt and harassment is becoming an epidemic.
Freedom without exception is the only way to inspire people, and grow a nation. Insulting someone or their religion is poor form, but for a government to regulate it as well as not grant women equality, seeds the future for continued strife and unrest.
I am confident the United States is suffering in a similar manner. The Patriot Act of 2001 traded away half of the Bill of Rights for safety. Amendments 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 are violated every day by the federal government. By creating a DHS police force and deploying them, the United States has now trounced the tenth amendment - State's Rights - as well as created the foundation of a police state. Is it still reasonable to consider America free? I believe so, but something very important happened on 9/11. The United States lost 3000 people to terrorism. We also saw the beginning of our loss of freedom. We began trading it away for security, and the world is only getting more dangerous.
