The Iraq Elections; A Civics Lesson to Be Learned

I stayed up very late last night watching bombs explode as the Iraqi election went forward as planned. I couldn't help but notice a few things about this election that I feel should be pointed out. I am going to ask you to use your imagination. First, close your eyes, say a few ohms or hail mary's or something, take some deep breaths and follow along.

It is voting day. You are happy that you can help be a part of the process that allows leaders to be chosen by you, the people. As you walk to the polls, you hear explosions going off around you, but you aren't too concerned with this. Hearing bombs go off and the screams of the wounded and survivors who lost loved ones have become a daily occurence in your life, but you will not be deterred. You are going to vote. You reach the correct polling station, the one that they said you had to go to if you wanted to vote. You are greeted by armed guards, supposedly there to protect you. There is a line, reaching outside the makeshift building, and it is getting close to the time that the polls are supposed to close. You begin to think that maybe you won't get to vote after all, and tears well up in your eyes. This will be your first time ever to vote, you had not been eligible to vote before today. Your disappointment mounts as the clock keeps ticking. What is wrong here? The line doesn't seem to be moving very fast, although you do see people leaving with a purple stain on their finger. They are smiling, proudly holding their fingers in the air for you to see. Another blast goes off somewhere, but far enough away that you don't hear screams. Maybe it was just the backfire from an American Military Hummer and not a hand grenade or a bomb. It doesn't really matter to you, what matters is that this line get's moving so you can cast your vote. A few minutes later, an armed military official comes outside the building and annonces that although it was time for the polls to close, the decision had been made to extend the time so that those in line would have a chance to exercise their right to vote. You are elated at this news, you will get to vote! So this is how democracy works. About 45 minutes later you enter the building and your time to vote has arrived. You are handed a paper ballot with many names on it. You now understand why it was taking so long. There are a lot of names on the paper. You have to look at each one and vote for people from various categories that are listed for different positions within the government. You are asked to dip your finger in the purple ink. You do so, proudly mark the candidates that you have decided to vote for and then give the paper to a soldier, to be counted later. You have voted, for the first time in your life. Like others before you, as you leave the building you proudly raise your purple finger in the air proclaiming to those still waiting that you have finished. A television reporter then approaches you, asking how it felt to vote and wanting to hear your story. You spend 15 minutes talking to the reporter and then begin the walk home. You feel as if you had accomplished something to help your country get better and hope that the foreign soldiers will soon be gone. In short, you are estatic. On the way home you hear more explosions, but think little of them. You are occupied with the experience you have just gone through, casting a vote for the first time in your life.

A different polling place. It is voting day. You are excited that this will be the first time that you have been eligible to vote. After waiting your whole life, you can finally join the process. The process that allows you to help shape the future of your country by voting for candidates that you feel will best represent you. You have waited what seems like forever for this day. You hop into your car and begin driving to the place they said you must go to cast your vote. About one mile before you reach the voting station, a roadblock is set up. After you stop, an armed man in uniform approaches your car and you roll down your window. After being asked where you are going, you explain to the man that for the first time you are going to vote. The man says that it is too late, the polling place will be closed soon and that the line is too long. You will never make it in time, so you should turn around and go back in the direction from which you came. You are confused, but you have no choice but to turn around, given that the man has a gun and the road is blocked. As you are driving the other direction, it strikes you that you can cut through a few side streets and still get to the polling place, missing that particular road block and hoping that there aren't others at the intersections that you must cross. You still have an hour until the polling station closes, so you decide to go for it. Luckily, your plan works and you arrive at the polling place 30 minutes before closing time. There are maybe 30 people in line ahead of you, but you have heard that it doesn't take long to vote and are hopeful that you can cast your first vote in time. You see people exiting the building after only being inside for a minute or two, so your anticipation grows. The line is moving along pretty well, it looks like you'll make it. You are thinking, "Boy I hope my choices win." You have spent a fair amount of time researching the candidates over the last few weeks, and feel that your choices best represent your hope for the future. The girl in front of you strikes up a conversation. She is a little older, so you ask her if she has ever voted before. She said yes, that she always votes. She also says that she wishes it was like it used to be, where you pull buttons next to the candidates you choose and then pull a big handle like playing a slot machine. She says that she doesn't really like the new, computerized touch screen way of voting. You agree, although you really don't know what she is talking about. After all, this is your first time to vote, but you don't tell her that. You look at the time, there are now only six people in front of you and you have 12 minutes until the polls close. You are going to get to vote! You are a combination of nervous and excited. You had always heard your parents say that if you didn't vote you had no right to complain about who represented you. Now you will vote and complain all you want to. Finally, the next person in line to vote is the girl in front of you. You can hardly stand it now, you are thinking one last time about which candidates you wish to choose. Then, an armed man in a uniform comes up and says that the polling station is closed and the voting is over. The girl in front of you becomes incensed, showing the man her watch. He tells her that her watch is wrong, it's time to go. She then points to the clock on the wall behind the man and it shows 6:52, but the man says that they are going by his watch, it says 7:02, and that there will be no more voting. She continues to argue, becoming more angry as the seconds tick away. The man tells her that if she doesn't immediately leave, she will be arrested for disturbing the peace. She angrily stomps off and you follow her, disappointed that you did not get to vote after all. You think to yourself, "So, this is democracy?"

Our country, the United States of America, has just forced an election in Iraq. We are placing the lives of American troops on the line every day, losing many, allegedly to "bring Democracy to Iraq." I will not go into whether or not the Iraq election was rigged, whether the candidates are or are not legitimate, nor whether the results are pre-ordained by us. I have my suspicions, but that is for another day.

What you see above is the truth. The first example is from what I saw on television last night in Iraq, the second from our 2004 Presidential election in the United States. As we "spread democracy" around the Middle East and around the world, it seems that we have forgotten what democracy is here at home. In Iraq, it's fine to use paper ballots that can be handcounted and fingerprints. In America, we must use rigged machines that leave no paper trail. In Iraq, they will gladly keep the polling places open late to serve those in line who wish to vote. In America, we often have too few voting machines in certain regions, and close the polling early, if necessary, to prevent minorities and other specific groups from casting votes. We can also, in America, set up roadblocks to prevent certain groups from ever reaching the ballot boxes. Or intimidate certain ethnic groups by threatening to arrest them for trying to vote. In Iraq, a purple finger is good enough. In America, you must have several pieces of identification available, identification that some groups of people just don't have. I could go on and on, but I won't.

The point is this, we were responsible for both elections. Because Boosh has a lot at stake on this Iraqi vote, we were willing to bend over backwards to see that every Iraqi who wanted to vote got to vote. In America, you are encouraged (actually allowed) to vote, as long as you are part of a group that statistics predict that you will vote for the right people. If you are from a group that statistics say will oppose those people, you are discouraged (actually prevented) from voting. There is ample evidence of people being told that the polls were closed, (even going as far as telling people that the vote was actually the next day) that there were too many people in line for you to have time to vote, threats of arrest of those who may have a traffic warrant out for them should they try to vote, evidence of rigged voting machines, vote tampering, votes being literally thrown in the trash can, tires being slashed on buses prepared to take people to the polls, and on and on and on. We only want people to vote as long as it fits the long range plans of corrupted individuals, pure and simple.

Maybe we can learn something from the Iraqi vote by demanding that the machines be thrown in the damn dumpster. Demand that we not register or show identification, simply dip our fingers in purple ink and put a print on a paper ballot. It seems to work better over there than it does here.

Cyclone