Sowing Democracy

   As I have grown and learned more and more about history, I have come to realize how rare and special this country of ours is.  At one time, I thought like President Bush that we can simply plant democracy in other places around the world but now I see differently.   One only has to look around the world today and see where democracy has flourished and where it has not to see it doesn't grow on its own.  The list of third-world countries where we have tried to make it work and failed is staggering.  So why is this?

   To illustrate let me use (hope I don't offend anyone here) Jesus' parable of the sower.

 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: ⁵ “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

    Like the kingdom of God, democracy falls on different soil.  In some cases, like the birds (who are

meant to symbolize the devil or evil in general)  who come in and snatch it away. Likewise, democracy has its detractors and people who do not want it at all.  They want the power for themselves and not for the people.  People like: Morsi in Egypt,  Assad in Syria, Kony in Uganda, Chavez in Venezuela, Muslim clerics in Iran, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Mao and the list goes on and on.  All of these men snatch the hopes of democracy from their peoples hands before it can even start.   

    Like the seed that fell on rocky soil (or soil with very little top-soil), some countries took in democracy and it grew fast but they lacked physical and spiritual resources to draw from and so when the bad times came, they abandoned it and went back to their tribal ways.  The best example of this today is Afghanistan.   We all remember the pictures of people voting for the first time and going to movie theaters (Taliban prohibited this) and flying kites (another activity prohibited by the Taliban).  But then their economy did not do well and corruption in their government (bribes) made the people lose hope and confidence in it and now some are going back to the Taliban.   We in America were BLESSED with an abundance of resources to pull from in bad times to sustain us.  We also were BLESSED with an abundance of religious faith that God was with us and would help us in our times of need.  Faith is the deep soil that holds the moister for us to draw from when times are bad.  It allows us to "keep our heads" and push through.  (Note: I personally believe that democracy cannot grow in Muslim countries for the very reason that it teaches God punishes you for your wrongs and does not love you as a person. To me, you have a different outlook on bad times when you believe God loves you and has paid for all of your sins).

    Like the seed that fell among the weeds,  both the good and the bad made use of the soil but the bad got the better of the good.  How often do we see countries who elect leaders who seem to say all

the right things but in reality they are not who they say they are.   Like weeds that look like good plants, they grow up among us with ill-will towards us.  Their intent is to "choke" us and "starve" us of the nutrients democracy needs to grow.  Unlike the birds, or the rocky soil, their destruction is slow and painful.   They do this by restricting their people, by taking away their guns, limiting their free-speech, prosecuting their press agents, increasing their taxes, regulating what they can do and how they can earn a living.   (Sound familiar?).  To weed them out is not easy.  Weed pulling requires people to discriminate between good and bad plants and we have been trained that "discrimination is bad".   But not all discrimination is bad for while discrimination based on surface issues like race, color or gender is wrong, discrimination based on known results is not.   For example, taking the car keys away from a person who has been drinking is not discriminating against "drinkers". Instead, it's calling a person out based on past experiences of outcomes.   But sadly, many today are taught that ALL forms of government are equally good in their own way.  They teach that socialism, communism,  and totalitarianism are all equally valid forms of government and we should give equal time to all of them despite the overwhelming evidence how destructive they are.  Reagan referred to this in his famous "Destiny Speech" as accommodation and he warned us that it will not end well for us if take that course (surrender).  But like giving the weeds in your garden the same amount of water and fertilizer as your flowers, you know what you will get in the end. A garden full of weeds.


    Our country however was planted in good soil.

• An abundance of resources to pull from (land,trees,oil,coal,iron,water)
• Found by people of religious faith, Christians and Jews, who were principled in their lives (not perfect by any means) and through self-control were free to live their lives under a limited government.
• Provided with great leaders like George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson to gave us stable and honest leadership in our early years and set the standard for future presidents so HIGH that it would take 232 years to deteriorate to the despotic level we have today.
• Intelligent men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin who through their education and knowledge of history and understanding of human-nature were able to frame for us a government that (until recently) has been one of checks and balances to limit its powers to harass and control its people. 

   This 4th of July, take time to acknowledge how special of a place you are living and let us all pledge ourselves to protect it for future generations to enjoy.