Patience

Maybe its because I'm older now that I have more patience with almost everything.  I've seen enough to know that sometimes it just takes a bit of waiting on something.  Like letting bread rise.  You can't rush it.

It is also one of the best things about democracy and maybe the least understood.  I have thought for some time that one of the greatest things about democracy is succession.  All other forms of government have a problem with succession.  Sure kings and queens have succession but eventually that falls apart, strong men can't live forever and their heirs can't maintain the strong rule forever.

Once I realized this critical difference in the world's governments, it seemed to me that democracy was inevitable.  You just need patience.  Sure it isn't perfect and the road is long and painful but patience will pay off.  What is the alternative? 

Well we tried the alternative in Iraq.  Depose an evil strong man and democracy will flower.  Yeah right.

Imagine if we had patience.  Eight years after Iraq, something happened in Tunisia.  People just got sick of their leader and decided to try democracy.  Amazingly the process was reasonably peaceful, it might even work.  We won't know for quite a while.  Patience.

Then this idea spread to Egypt where, again, it was reasonably peaceful and, again, we will have to be patient.

Imagine if we had waited, had not invaded Iraq,  What do you suppose would have happened then? If this movement had arrived at an Iraq that was still dominated by a strongman,  I can't think it would have been peaceful.  There was too much tension I expect that Iraq would have been more like what is happening in Libya - ugly.

Speaking of Libya, where is the patience there?  There is pressure to establish a no-fly zone there but it turns out that Step One is an act of war - destroy Libya's air defenses.   Yet we do feel we must do something because Libyans are dying.

I did say being patient was not easy.