Yes, I couldn't agree more--we have much to learn about democracy from those brave people in North Africa and the Middle East.
As citizens of a democracy under siege we can take lessons from our Arab brothers and sisters that democracy is more than voting every two or four years. It is more than waiting for elected leaders to fulfill their campaign promises. It includes a healthy skepticism of elected and unelected power, in the form of mega business corporations, financial institutions, and leaders who promote fear of and anger toward our fellow citizens. We can remember that democracy, real democracy, not just electoral democracy takes effort, it is what happens between elections, it does not run on automatic....But those revolutions are not finished, and they will not be finished until a reality behind these regimes is finished: the control of the economy by a few. What is missing from this article is that real democracy cannot be achieved without real democratic control over the economy. Authentic democracy is completely incompatible with the system of capitalism. Something as essential as an economy, the means by which people provide for their material needs, cannot be controlled by a tiny minority and still have meaningful democracy. What could be more obvious?
