A Contagious Right

The U.S. is currently doing the worst possible job of spreading democracy. I’ve thought about it, and I can’t come up with a worse way without adding some element of totalitarianism. It seems that even though we have the best product on the market, the great bastion of capitalism somehow can’t make the sell.
The way I see it, we have a few options. We could cut ourselves off from world affairs entirely and focus only on the wellbeing of our own country. While this idea has some merit - mostly that we have enough problems of our own that need tending to, and could help us lead by example if improved - it is impractical for our economy, security, and influence in the ever-expanding global community, and seems callous in regards to the billions of suffering people in the rest of the world. Also, it leaves us unable to be a part of the dialog between free societies and those who persist in oppressing their people.
Another option, the one we now pursue most vigorously, is to spread democracy by force. It is absolutely true that we must sometimes intervene when a fascist form is denying people the most fundamental human rights, and help create an opportunity for democracy to take hold. But little good that does if, as we’ve seen in Palestine and are seeing in Iraq, the fascist dictators are voted in democratically. People have to want a free society, and to want it they have to understand it. The warped view of the West, and the U.S. in particular, being propagated in the Arab world is only emboldened when we only show our face behind guns and tanks. Their own leaders portray us through the superstitions and traditions of their culture by demonizing our freedoms of speech and religion, and denouncing the liberation of women. Instead of working to show them the benefits of equal rights and a free society, our only explicit response has been to extend a hand holding a gun, instead of an olive branch, a microphone, or, better yet, a diploma.
And this brings me to the major failure of the U.S. government in dealing with fascist anti-western dictatorships in the Middle East. There is a third option, a way for us to lead by example in a globally active manner, a way for us to cripple the influence and power of those who wish to stunt the moral and practical progression of the world. I truly believe in all my heart that if we appealed to the populations of oppressed societies, if we just gave them a glimpse of the life and possibilities of equal freedom, justice, and liberty for all, the demand towards a system of government of, by and for the people would so incapacitate the anti-western, fanatic zealot’s influence, they would have to change their tune.
There are countless and ever-increasing stories from people, who left their theocratic dictatorships with a heavy resentment towards the west, being astonished again and again at the acceptance provided and fulfillment allowed in a free society. We currently devote a majority of our resources and energy towards forcing democracy in the Middle East. If we were to take just a sliver of that which we still squander and utilize it in the right way, we could inspire democracy over there, attend to our problems at home, and give creed to our call for global equality through peaceful means. All it takes is a reassessment of the world we live in. It is time for us to get with the times.
We now live in the most important era humanity has known. It is a time when people of any status, class, caste or prestige can access incomprehensible amounts of information. We (western cultures) not only produce much of this information, but insist on the freedom to share and express it. Imagine the changes that could take place if every family in the Middle east had access to the internet. They have propaganda and the passion of tradition and superstition. These are strong tools, but they are no match for the offer of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have the means, now let us share those means and see some god damned ends.