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Your average politician thinks they are right, most of the time. It is rare they will, at least, admit failure. Some take it too far and ignore the other pies out there, thinking everyone likes the same kind of pie.
The Bolsheviks did it when they outlawed factionalism and the Shrub regieme has done it by making 'dissidents' sound un-patriotic. Both claim/ed to be democratic.
The Bolsheviks did it when they outlawed factionalism and the Shrub regieme has done it by making 'dissidents' sound un-patriotic. Both claim/ed to be democratic.
The Shrub regieme needs to understand that right now it isn't representing 49% of their country. This happens from time to time, but a culture of open communication where dissent and debate is encouraged is far better than name calling.
Contrast this to our country, where we have just had an interesting display of public debate between Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President Thabo Mbeki:
The Archbishop also called for vigorous public debate. He said: "Our diversity, which we must affirm and celebrate, is diversity of race, of language, of culture, of religion and of points of view. We want our society to be characterised by vigorous debate and dissent where to disagree is part and parcel of a vibrant community, that we should play the ball not the person and not think that those who disagree, who express dissent, are ipso facto disloyal or unpatriotic."
The President warmly and explicitly accepted the Archbishop's challenge to engage in vigorous debate and dissent. In this regard he said the Archbishop "called for rational discussion of the challenges our country faces, involving as many of our people as possible. I fully agree with this appeal and hope that many of us will participate in this multi-issue discussion." - ANC Today
While at some points the debate got petty as politicians seem to inspire, it is a sign of a far healthier democracy. I still feel, as does Tutu, that a large percentage of our population is being misrepresented, however it is nice to see our president responding to the issue with something more than rhetoric about 'freedom' and 'liberty'.
The President warmly and explicitly accepted the Archbishop's challenge to engage in vigorous debate and dissent. In this regard he said the Archbishop "called for rational discussion of the challenges our country faces, involving as many of our people as possible. I fully agree with this appeal and hope that many of us will participate in this multi-issue discussion." - ANC Today
While at some points the debate got petty as politicians seem to inspire, it is a sign of a far healthier democracy. I still feel, as does Tutu, that a large percentage of our population is being misrepresented, however it is nice to see our president responding to the issue with something more than rhetoric about 'freedom' and 'liberty'.
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