Brain Fertilizer

A long, but truly thought-provoking essay is up at Dean's World*

See, I don't really find it racist or sexist. I guess some would. I see it as behavioralist, but that's one of my filters.

And I also think Mr. Sad emphasizes "democracy" too much. He himself first points to the Rule of Law as being the most important thing that makes the Texas desert far safer to individuals than the Iraqi desert, then does a bait and switch to replace it with "democracy" without explaining that shift to any real extent.

He's right, however, that "democracy" can be one such path by which people lose the Rule of Law, and can be one path by which people exercise their liberty.

But I do wonder if "bringing Democracy voting to the Middle East" isn't yet another form of Cargo Cult thinking...?

Thoughts?

*Party Time! Excellent!