Force feeding democracy

It is often said that those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Democracy is no harlot to be picked up off the street by fanatics. In our zeal to promote democratic elections, we sometimes fail to examine who is likely to prevail after the election. True democracy demands a long gestation period under the best of circumstances.

Most of the regimes in the Middle East have no history of democracy. Neither did Germany after World War I, and they ended up with the Weimer Republic along with chaos, then Hitler. Any so-called democratically elected government in the Middle East will, of necessity, be something of a Frankenstein Monster stitched together hurriedly and incorrectly. Such governments will be doomed to suffer an ignominious failure and will have the life expectancy of a fruit fly.

Successive recent American governments of both parties seem intent upon force feeding democracy to people in the most backward areas of the world. We have followed this policy too many times; perhaps we should go down some other path. As the late unlamented George Wallace might colorfully say, "Even the average taxi cabdriver should know that!"

Democracy is hard, just look at Washington, D.C. today. It should come as no surprise that our government doesn't poll well.

SCOTT BROWNING, Cape Girardeau