Harrison’s conclusion is especially prescient when noting that John McCain will visit business and political (read: rightist) leaders in Mexico and Colombia:
These three examples demonstrate how good intentions expressed through military force and money can be frustrated by cultures that are not congenial to democratic institutions. The Bush administration's idea that "These values of freedom are right and true for every person, in every society" ignores the lessons not only of these three cases, but also of the more generalized problems of democratization in the Islamic world, Africa, and Latin America.
Surely past and present Bush advisers such as Paul Wolfowitz and Condoleezza Rice have read Alexis de Tocqueville's classic "Democracy in America." But they – and Senator McCain – must have forgotten its overriding lesson: When it comes to the viability of democracy, more than anything else, culture matters.
Whether you agree with Harrison or not, his article makes for a very interesting read at how history tends to repeat itself.
Image- Casa Vivaldi (Image of U.S. occupation in Nicaragua which took place between 1912 and 1933)
Sources- Christian Science Monitor, Wikipedia, UPI
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