Forwarded message:
Date: Fri, 7 Mar 1997 07:03:53 -0500 (EST)
From: LBeachy957@aol.com
Message-Id: <970307070353_1680516399@emout07.mail.aol.com>
To: gasmerom@saturn.vcu.edu, owner-dehai@ftp1.primenet.com
Subject: Re: [DEHAI] "Democracy ="sgay sgaKa"
In a message dated 3/5/97 11:54:34 AM, you wrote:
<<Democracy as we know it in the west is
self-centered, while democracy at home, the home-grown one, is
community centered. While the democracy of the west seems to be a good
catalyst for the decaying of the family and society, democracy at home
can be used to build and strengthen society.>>
Selam Ghidewon,
I very much appreciated your post. Up to now much of the talk on democracy
has been theoretical and talk of nice ideas, don't misunderstand me these
have their place. How to impelement any idea takes understanding of the
situation into which the idea will be "birthed". You did an interesting job
of describing the situation as it exists in Eritrea. Because of this we can
discuss how "new" or "other" ideas may fit into these already existing
situations.
People make different types of houses in different parts of the world for
very specific practical reasons. Some are built out of mud and earth to help
keep the heat out. Some are light-weight and easy to take apart due to
constant moving of the home. Some are built out of wood and other materials
that are easy to heat in cold winters. Some are built in a specific way
because of the great amount of rain. Different houses demonstrate
adaptations to different realities. To say that everyone in the world should
start building houses just like those found in America would be laughed at.
There may be some things you might want to learn from how they build houses
such as how to use a cheaper material to accomplish the same task, or
whatever but houses should reflect the local realities and materials etc.
How we rule, organize a country, implement economic laws, determine laws,
enforce laws, legislate different actions etc. must take into consideration
the local realities or else it would be like trying to build an igloo in the
desert or a HIdamo in New York City.
In the past I have noticed that whenever someone suggested that the
American-type of Democracy may not be suited for Eritrea someone else would
be offended by that statement. It was as if they understood that to mean
that Eritreans weren't intelligent enough to do what the Americans do or that
Eritreans weren't capable of being Democratic. Intelligence has nothing to
do with this comparison and as you have shown Ghidewon, In many instances
traditions in Eritrea have their own democratic soil which may be more humane
in some instances than that found in America (for example).
Remember that not nearly everyone was treated well by "Democractic" America.
The Native Americans were for the most part killed off by the Europeans when
they came to America so that the Europeans could establish their "democracy".
Long after "all men are created equal" was a part of the American
constitution there was still slavery in which one American could own another
American if the owner was white and the "owened person" was black. This was
one of the reasons that America fought a bloody civil war in the mid-19th
century. There are still many inequalities in America so one must be
selective about what one wants to "photo-copy" from America.
Therefore to say that there needs to be a democracy unique to Eritrea is a
most encouraging statement. To say otherwise would be to say that there is
nothing good about Eritrea or Eritreans and everything from now on must be
done exactly like it is done in America. This is simply not true. Eritrea
has much to say for itself and the citizens of Eritrea are as capable as
anyone else in the world of successfully running their own country and
running it well. But just like the housing example, the realities in Eritrea
must be taken into consideration.
I believe that some on this list may have interpreted past statements
regarding Eritrea being different than America as saying Eritrea is inferior
to America. In my undersanding that is not at all what is meant by such a
statement, the opposite is true when someone makes a statement like that.
It points out the dignity of Eritreans in that their uniquness is not
inferior to anyone else in the world and therefore must be taken into
consideration when trying for a new system of government. To have an open
and equal system of government like America has can be implemented in Eritrea
but it will look like Eritrea and not the US.
In Eritrea people eat differently than people in the US too. We must
understand that this is merely "different" and there is no inferior/superior
quality about this. Hopefully no one will think that eating with your hands
is somehow "inferior" or backwards and therefore is embarrassed by it. How
else could you eat Zigni? With a spoon simply wouldn't taste right.
Is everything perfect in Eritrea? Of course not, nowhere where there are
people is there anything close to perfection. I am not saying that those on
this list who want change in Eritrea have no legitimate reason for speaking
out. It is good to see people who are willing to be a part of critical
thinking and planning for the good of Eritrea. Eritrea can be open, free,
democraic etc. The only point I am trying to make is that Eritrea, like all
other countries in the world, is unique. What other country has democracy
exactly like the US?
hawKum,
Gemena
-- Ghidewon Ghidewon@vcu.edu
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