Religious Freedom in the Middle East

[bigjoe]

I strongly dislike the way values that the Middle Eastern Islamic Society impose. I beleive that once a better government is in place there, people should have the right to stray from Islam and seek more peaceful religions, perhaps(and preferably) even atheism.

Im sure a lot of the females would value a society in which they werent treated like dirt... ;)

I certainly wouldnt treat a Middle Eastern woman like dirt , if you catch my groove :naughty:

[Beldaran]

I totally agree.

[carrot red]

There are Christian minorities in the Middle East and those are oppressed. And I'm sure that Saudi women are quite happy being walking curtains and garbage bags and not existing in the eyes of the State (they have no ID)!
There is no democracy in the Middle East, from a Monarch to another and from a dictator to another...
So, I say yes, but this is a fantasy.

[bigjoe]

I beleive that there will one day be democracy. Democracy always wins in the long run. I think the world will come to celebrate July 4th one day , just as we do. The day of freedom. The day when some people decided to stand up for it, which led to a chain of events that caused the liberation of the world....

Just me , though...

[Beldaran]

I don't think democracy works. Democracy gives people an equal voice in government. Unfortunately, people are stupid and vote away their freedom.

The only system of government that will ever work is a dictatorship of personal freedom in which people are forced by the government to have personal freedoms and rights no matter how badly they want to live in a socialist commune. If they don't like it, they are free to move to Holland and smoke pot.

[bigjoe]

Just as long as the general population is satisfied with their freedoms. Otherwise ,there will be rebellion , as that is human nature.

The real goal is to trick people into thinking they're in a democracy ;) And our government does a fine job of that...

[J.J. Maxx]

I agree with BigJoe, I think everyone should have the right to choose religion or not choose religion.

[VashdeStampedo!]

New democracies almost never work. Unless they're enforced, which would mean we'd have to stay there and keep it running, which would make it look like we were pulling the strings of our newly conquered puppet.

[TheGeepster]

The founding fathers never called our form of government a democracy. It is and has always been a representative republic. If we were a true democracy, then we wouldn't have a president or a Congress, only a place to gather and count the votes for any decision of law or government action, and maybe judges to enforce them.

People generally do not have the time to devote to running the country and their lives, and popular opinion makes a poor leader. And so a representative republic, for its faults works much better, and that is what we have set up in Afghanistan, and what we'll set up in Iraq.

[carrot red]

Even that "representative republic" didn't work in Afghanistan and it won't work in Iraq. Too much oppression and bloodshed.

[TheGeepster]

One of the problems with a representative republic is the diligence required of its people. But I think it could eventually work in Iraq and I'm not so certain it isn't working in Afghanistan.

Granted it may take some time to fine tune it in places that aren't accustomed to it, but I think people like the freedom they have to elect people to help rund things for them, and to be able to elect new people if the old ones aren't representing them properly. I haven't heard much negative news out of Afghanistan recently, and I think that's telling.