Dear Editor,
The conflict in the Middle East is a war between cultures. Our Judeo-Christian traditions come from the old republics of Greece and Rome where each individual citizen was respected and had a say, a vote. In contrast Authoritarian Societies value the state (Communist countries as Russia, China) or the tribe (American Indians, Arabs, “Islam”) more than the individuals in it. Typically a few individuals in the society will organize, chose a master plan. and pick a leader (the “Authority”) to guide them. Individuals out-of-sync with the master plan are ignored or if troublesome, eliminated.
Democracies periodically take a vote where all citizens are asked to choose policies and or leaders. The country’s governing bodies enact the policies and or leaders chosen by the majority of the voters. Authoritarian societies are not democracies, but rather are controlled by a fraction of their citizens – by a family (as the Mafia), the Communist party (Russia, China). a select group of tribal or religious leaders (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq). When a few individuals control the mass of citizens, the chance that someone evil and/or stupid — a Hitler, a Stalin, a Mao Tse-tung could come to power is a risk their citizens face continuously. This is also a risk to neighboring democracies when existing alongside authoritarian states. Authoritarian states are known for their corruption. The “Big Guy” buys off his competition by giving each of them a piece of the action. In the past the media in the U.S. has minimized corruption by shining a “light” on political greed. Lately our media has not kept up as well with the Democrats political boondoggles, and we (our government) has been embarrassed (remember Afghanistan, Covid, and the Pandemic)
Basic human nature is such that most of us are comfortable being guided by some authority especially if we can choose who we will follow. This is the appealing part of the United States of America – a democratic republic. By and large each of our citizens is free to exercise his or her own choice in every aspect of their lives. We can pick where we live, what work we will try, who we choose to govern us (we are a democracy), and who we choose as a life partner. These freedoms are envied the world over, especially thinking citizens of authoritarian societies. Unfortunately Democratic administrations tend to strengthen themselves by buying voters with various welfare programs – the “Dole. Bought voters don’t think about their responsibility to their country’s strength in the future – 30 trillion dollars in debt!! Socialist governments can be said to “buy off” many of their citizens with welfare programs. We need to be careful of how we administer our welfare monies as you and I are productive and happy with a bright future when working versus indolent and whiny and frightened when on the “dole”. Vote Republican.
Stuart Deans
Lockwood
