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...because I do believe that democracies are the best form of government that we've come up with yet (not that it doesn't have its faults)


I tend to agree that Democracy is the best form of government to date.

Having said that, there is one massive issue that is, and sadly always will be an obstruction to democracy in Afghanistan, and the middle east in general: the poison of corruption. Its pretty much evil and a hindrance to any forward progress in the countries of the Middle East. Any democracy pretty much becomes illegitimate when officials and votes are being bought and sold. I realize that its rampant pretty much everywhere, but the effects of corruption are just staggering. You can never truly trust the outcome of any vote -- it is rarely genuine.

Corruption is so inherent in the Middle East that its pretty much just accepted as a part of life. How do you combat that? How do you combat this deep, entrenched history of corruption? Not just in the Middle East, but in most 3rd world countries? I know how you feel when you say, "I don't want to believe that other people are less than we are." Its very commendable and human to hope for the best in people and to give people the benefit of the doubt. But I just can't anymore. There is corruption in Western countries but what makes it so God damn rampant in the Middle East? I don't want to think that we're all just a bunch of shady bastards but, more and more, that’s the direction I'm going. Its incredibly disheartening.

Another reason Afghanistan (and IMO the middle east in general) is not ready for democracy is because of a suspicion and sincere lack of respect for authority, the law and pretty much any governing body. For a form of government to function, the people need to have some level of faith in it. Unfortunately, Afghans are so used to corruption, and have been so disappointed with anyone that has been put in charge of them that they just don’t trust anyone anymore. You think the elected official in Kandahar gives two shits about Abdul Q. Public? Not really.

Yet another reason that Democracy is going to have problems in Afghanistan is because, quite frankly, a lot of the people just don’t have it in them to care at this point. They don’t have the time, patience, or energy to care. For a democracy to function, it needs to have some level of involvement from the populace. In the U.S., most people don’t really care for politics or what’s going on with government, mainly for the same reasons, they don’t have the time, patience or energy after a long days work. I heard a great analogy about people in the U.S. – it’s like a hotel, if the hot towels and pillow mints keep comin’, they are good to go. However, at the end of the day, there are still enough people involved in the democratic process that things move forward.

Regarding this issue, I’m not sure about other countries, but in Afghanistan, everyone is too God damn busy either finding working or working 16 hours a day trying to put food on their tables. They are too busy getting around on their deadly roads, and getting from war torn city to war torn city. Basically, they are too busy dealing with their miserable lives and shitty infrastructure to care. There are too few people willing to deal with all the crap of daily life and then on top of that be involved in the democratic process, i.e., be informed, organize, etc.

Do you know who the Afghans will support, who they’ll get behind? Someone who actually does something for them.

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Do they want to be lorded over by an authoritarian regime that tells them what to do? I mean, I seem to recall when the Taliban fell that there was a large amount of simple rejoicing, like women deciding not to wear burqas, or at least not such sever ones, men shaving their beards, and so on. It wasn't the hysterical reaction that seems to be so common in those situations, but more a feeling of relief at once again being able to express themselves.


Perfect example. Afghans supported the Taliban because they actually did something for the people. They grew and got powerful so quickly because they affected the lives of ordinary, dirt poor villagers in positive ways. The people immediately saw this and got behind them. The Taliban got rid of gangs of thugs and numerous warlords, the Taliban made what roads there were safe to travel, they put a massive dent in corruption and pretty much eliminated the opium trade. Unfortunately, in exchange for this they wanted adherence to a strict, antiquated and unreasonable form of Islam (a lot of the crappy things they did were, sadly, the effect of the culture, not the religion).

I wonder what it would have been like had the U.S. not invaded after 9/11. How much longer would Afghans have tolerated the Taliban? I know that after they fell, there was rejoicing and the Northern Alliance guys were pleased, but I can’t honestly say that the majority of Afghans were/are happy. No one wants to be lorded over by an authoritarian regime, but there are A LOT of people that still support the Taliban. They support them because, again, they actually performed for Afghanistan and they actually stand for something.

Basically I’m pretty much a pessimist about all of this stuff. People are basically assholes. I’m waiting for the aliens to come and hand out intergalactic justice. Like that one Twilight Zone.