Rodney King and I Are the Same Age

On the news, they said, "Forty-two year old Rodney King was shot today...."

Pray for him.

For those who do not know who he was/is, this African-American male's beating in 1991 by five white police officers led to a riot that killed 51 people.

We were born 50 days apart.

That's just weird to me.

Can Democracy be Forced?

On this day, November 28, 2007, the question seems abstract.

Further, to apply the question to an historic event, such as the March 2003 invasion of Iraq by America seems abstract to many people.

Yet, I was really and truly asking this question in 2002, before the invasion of Iraq by America, when the question was anything but abstract.

I was reminded of this in a conversation today.

Is it ever possible, anywhere, and at anytime to compel a people to become democratic by means of external force?

I don't think it is.

Even post WWII Germany did not have democracy forced upon it. Rather, democracy was restored to a country where democracy was taken away.

Post WWII Japan may seem like a case study in imposed democracy, but there is some serious nuance that needs to be looked at in this situation. Most notably, the emperor imposed democracy from within, rather than a foreign power acting alone to impose democracy from without.

Cotton and Conscience: by Michael Gerson

With a toddler and a premie at home, and a imminent and inevitable downsizing at work, I haven't had much time for blogging.

I received the editorial linked above from today's Washington Post via email, and felt it was too important not to take a moment to post....