On Sunday, a momentous event took place halfway around the world. For the first time in half a century, the people of Iraq were allowed to freely vote for their own leaders, to have a free hand in the running of their country, rather than having their hands chopped off if they dared to oppose the way it was run.
Despite naysayers' fears that overwhelming violence would scuttle the elections and that turnout would be low enough to declare the elections illegitimate, the elections proved to be an overwhelming success. Incidents of violence were rare, and at most polling locations the air bordered on euphoria, according to many on-site sources.
Since Sunday, critics of U.S. involvement in Iraq have been largely silent. They are silent for the same reason that we supporters of the U.S. actions should not be gloating or thinking that our job in Iraq is over. What we should be doing is watching with pride as the Iraqis take control of their own country and their own lives.
Sadly, some on the left have persisted in their denunciation of the elections. Some say the elections aren't legitimate because not enough Sunni Iraqis went to the voting booths and won't have representation in the new government. This is unlikely. Even if not enough Sunnis voted to get many representatives in the new parliament in Iraq, most believe that many influential Sunni leaders will garner prominent cabinet positions in the new government. Sunnis will have a very active role in crafting Iraq's constitution and future government.
One of the most ridiculous statements I have heard -- though thankfully one only hears rhetoric like this from the further reaches of the left these days -- is that Iraqis somehow "don't deserve" democracy.
The question I would pose to people who believe this is if they do not believe that Iraqis deserve democracy, do we in America similarly not deserve democracy?
For example, while Iraq voter turnout totals will not be known for perhaps another week, best estimates put the turnout somewhere between 63 percent to 75 percent. Take the median of those numbers and assume that 69 percent of Iraqis turned out to vote on Sunday. That's 69 percent turnout while terrorists threatened to blow up voters at the polling booths, while terrorists threatened to kill people on their way to voting booths and while terrorists threatened to track down people on the voter rolls and kill them. Meanwhile, here in America, where the greatest difficulty in voting is losing an hour of sleep getting up early, we could barely muster 60 percent voting in one of the most hard-fought and passionate elections we've seen. In fact, voter turnout in Iraq was higher than in nearly every democratic country where voting is not mandatory.
That's dedication. That's determination. That's true joy in being able to participate in the process of running one's own country.
Are these elections the be-all and end-all in Iraq? Certainly no one is saying that. But they are a huge step in the right direction and a valiant display of the courage of the Iraqi people. Looking at events halfway around the world should not raise the question of whether those in Iraq deserve democracy, but whether those of us right here at home deserve it.
Write to Tim at Redbaron.strikesagain@gmail.com
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