"On Civil Society"... or "Why Iraq needs More Boy Scouts"
I spent the weekend working with my mom and dad, as they attempted to work to put together a community group to deal with a subdivision variance being proposed on their road. When i wasn't working on issuing a press release for their new group, I was hanging out with my new found friends at the 910 Group.
What struck me is how rare across the world a simple association of citizens is. The trouble we have had in Iraq I believe, comes from a lack of civil society. So too in Palestine, where the people proceeded to elect a terrorist group to political power. Democracy alone is not the answer. For democracy to survive and flourish, there must be civil society. Free and independent organizations of people, organized together for... well for any reason. The Red Hat Society of retired women is an enormous threat to the totalitarian state, perhaps a greater threat then the armed band. We are seeking to create modern democracy in an area where there has never been so much as a bake sale without State approval. It will take time.
When the Israel-Hezbollah battle was going on, all we heard from the MSM was about how the Hezbollah side was carrying out social services and building projects, as if this some how mitigated their nature as a terrorist group. Fools. Hezbollah provides social services, because it must. To be the ultimate power over your subjects, whether a state, or a neighborhood, all carrots, as well as sticks, must come from your hands, as though manna (or Lightening bolts) from heaven. Al-Sadr, Nasarallah, and Al Capone have recognized this fact.
The ultimate mistake made by the communists in the Polish Solidarity movement came when the Pope came to visit. The Pope having been outspoken against the communists, but also a world leader, the communists responded by saying, "Fine, the Pope can come, and he can speak, but we will not help him. You must provide his transportation, the speakers, the porta-potties, the food and drink, the crowd control." The coup de grace was struck when the people of Poland were able to provide these things, without the help of their oppressors. In the totalitarian state, the government must be the provider, the organizer of all things. There may not be boy scouts meeting in a parent's basement (where my mom and dad taught children the finer points of bluebird house making), there must be meetings of the "Young Pioneer's League Group 5518" which reports directly to the League Group Supervisor, which reports to the Commissioner on Youth Activites.
In Iraq, though they have successfuly voted on an elected government for the first time in their history, there has not been enough work on civil society. If it is still the government, or the US military, or the Iranian backed militas, from which all good things flow, we will still see trouble.
I think these things will occur, by simple human nature, if they are allowed to. It is the nature of humans to come together in groups for the performance of tasks, or simply for social enjoyment. If there are civil groups who can come together simply out of good will, and not require their members to sign away their first born sons (literally in some cases) to the State, or Mahdi Army, or Hezobollah, we can see freedom and peaceful democracy in a region where it has never been before.
What struck me is how rare across the world a simple association of citizens is. The trouble we have had in Iraq I believe, comes from a lack of civil society. So too in Palestine, where the people proceeded to elect a terrorist group to political power. Democracy alone is not the answer. For democracy to survive and flourish, there must be civil society. Free and independent organizations of people, organized together for... well for any reason. The Red Hat Society of retired women is an enormous threat to the totalitarian state, perhaps a greater threat then the armed band. We are seeking to create modern democracy in an area where there has never been so much as a bake sale without State approval. It will take time.
When the Israel-Hezbollah battle was going on, all we heard from the MSM was about how the Hezbollah side was carrying out social services and building projects, as if this some how mitigated their nature as a terrorist group. Fools. Hezbollah provides social services, because it must. To be the ultimate power over your subjects, whether a state, or a neighborhood, all carrots, as well as sticks, must come from your hands, as though manna (or Lightening bolts) from heaven. Al-Sadr, Nasarallah, and Al Capone have recognized this fact.
The ultimate mistake made by the communists in the Polish Solidarity movement came when the Pope came to visit. The Pope having been outspoken against the communists, but also a world leader, the communists responded by saying, "Fine, the Pope can come, and he can speak, but we will not help him. You must provide his transportation, the speakers, the porta-potties, the food and drink, the crowd control." The coup de grace was struck when the people of Poland were able to provide these things, without the help of their oppressors. In the totalitarian state, the government must be the provider, the organizer of all things. There may not be boy scouts meeting in a parent's basement (where my mom and dad taught children the finer points of bluebird house making), there must be meetings of the "Young Pioneer's League Group 5518" which reports directly to the League Group Supervisor, which reports to the Commissioner on Youth Activites.
In Iraq, though they have successfuly voted on an elected government for the first time in their history, there has not been enough work on civil society. If it is still the government, or the US military, or the Iranian backed militas, from which all good things flow, we will still see trouble.
I think these things will occur, by simple human nature, if they are allowed to. It is the nature of humans to come together in groups for the performance of tasks, or simply for social enjoyment. If there are civil groups who can come together simply out of good will, and not require their members to sign away their first born sons (literally in some cases) to the State, or Mahdi Army, or Hezobollah, we can see freedom and peaceful democracy in a region where it has never been before.
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