Yesterday we made a list in class of advice/cautions we would give a country, say in North Africa, that was reforming their government to a democracy.
Here's what I got in my notes:
Have a broad educated base
Self interest in the government
The right to assembly
Identification of oneself with the nation - patriotism
Making fixable mistakes
Checks and Balances
"Democracy is a means, not an end"
Dangerous sense of individualism - scale governments (township government, to county, to state, to nation)
Communication
Many smaller cities, rather than one big city (Eg. Cairo, Egypt)
Make the Constitution with a pencil and eraser
Leaders that will step down (Eg. George Washington)
Humility - Mistakes happen. Nobody can achieve perfection
Unity
Accountability
...You know, I was going to reflect on these, but I think they pretty much say it all. I think they're all good ideas, and all necessary to keep in mind when building a democracy.
Yessirs.
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