"A stable and democratic society is impossible without a minimum degree of literacy and knowledge on the part of most citizens and without widespread acceptance of some common set of values. Education can contribute to both."
- Milton Friedman : Capitalism and Freedom
"No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices."
- Edward R. Murrow
About duty and responsibility is the game of democracy, and not about simple arithmetic calculation of voters. No emphasized names, no bold clichés : those who should defend democracy are the people, there is no possible alternative. But the other real role of the people is not to govern, but is to choose the governor. This is the most important point : there should be a very limited number of concurrent conceptions of the politic behaviour of a nation, and all should be respectful to the duty of preserving the elementary rights of the citizen : no descrimination of minorities, the possession right, the expression right, the voting right, the justice independance and so. As we talk about democracy, I think we should be focused on the role of the media and the superficial propaganda : and again, I see here no real problem. What people will always remember is what happen, not what they were told to imagine. And this pragmatic and realistic view of the politic life will always be creative when giving the people the right to choose periodically their leaders.
It is about crime and punishment. This system is slow but concise, and offers results of autoregulation in the society. But what we need to make it work is some sort of a tradition, that allows the ordinary citizen to evolve. And you are not sure of course of the existence of such a tradition in Zimbabwe for example. That is what we need : tradition, education and what M. Friedman calls "widespread acceptance of some common set of values". The values that I repeatedly underlined.
But who should start it ? I will say that everyone who is convinced of that set values should start it. This is the responsibility of intellectuals, writers, columnists, critics, even actors and football players. It is not about motivation. It is about giving our children and their children a more tolerant and open minded world to live in. It is about giving them more choices and freedom, to make them more open to things. It is not some feeling. It is our duty.
I think that choosing a side is important, and when there are two powerful sides or more, with respect of minorities, any one can be happy. The stabilization of the complex societies of today should not be pictured in Iranian Revolution Guards killing and injuring reformist protestors in the name of God. This is what I don't and won't want to show to my child. These are the pictures I hate.
Commentaires