Hope
For Pakistan
By
Mike Ghouse
30 December,
2007
MikeGhouse.net
Much
has been written about Benazir Bhutto, her assassination is a severe
blow to democracy in Pakistan.
She threatened
the extremists, a dare move perhaps calculated to win the support of
majority of moderates in Pakistan who want to live a normal life. They
got to her before she could get them.
It was the
battle of wills. She played the game boldly but undiplomatically. She
had every thing to lose, whereas the extremists did not. Life did not
mean much to them, it was not a good equation.
Now, is the
time and the moral responsibility of the moderate majority to stand
up, whether Ms. Bhutto would have made it or not is not the question,
but she sacrificed her life to bring democracy back to her people. If
they do not, those few extremists will bulldoze them, one leader at
a time. Then it would be too late to wish otherwise.
The ‘Bush-man”
Musharraf fell prey to the greed of power. His dreams of making Pakistan
a moderate democratic republic simply vanished before the hunger for
power.
Bhutto’s
death gives ample reason to Musharraf to stay put. I will not be surprised
to hear “I told you so”, “You did not understand my
people” kind of rhetoric and assert “Pakistani people prefer
to have the military rule” and “I am the one.” Pakistani
people deserve their own government, and they are inherently democratic
in their disposition.
At this time,
the best course for the United States to take is not to rock the boat.
Let the general have some breathing room, and listen to him and to the
public without making aggressive self serving suggestions. Any criticism
of his government may build public resentment and amounts to meddling
in their affairs.
Stability
of Pakistan is important to her people and people in the Subcontinent.
Let Pakistan recover from this severe blow to their democratic process,
and make sure there is a genuine welcome of our help, and offer it unconditionally.
Democracy
is not a ‘ready made’ suit to fit in the moment you wear
it. It is a process like planting the seeds, watching them germinate,
checking for moisture, soil, sun and air, and caring it from bugs, fungal
diseases and then protecting it from the birds. Then comes fertilizing,
watering, pruning and chasing the birds or the monkeys part, it is a
full blown process. You have nourish it and over a period of twenty
years, it will be tree enough to serve the purpose for which it was
gown; Shade.
One has to start breathing, drinking, sleeping and living democracy
to fully realize its values. It took us two centuries to be one of the
most mature democracies and we need to give others at least a generation
and not order it to happen on our President’s watch.
Fundos (Fundamentalists)
are a threat to the peaceful working of their society. They want others
to believe and listen to them, without giving the other party the very
same right. As citizens of the world, we need to put politics aside
and at least try roping them into a dialogue. Looking back, had our
administration not emboldened her with the confrontational path, she
probably would have trekked the diplomatic path.
To understand
the vibrancy of Pakistani populace, one must watch the Pakistan forums
and talk shows- such as the much talked about “who wants to be
the Prime Minister”. It is weeks of debate, give and take punches,
and absorbing and living the values of inclusiveness in that society.
The extremists also listen and watch the slow seeping in of democratic
norms. It is an anecdote to terrorism.
Steven Bochco’s
“LA Law” truly represented American mind, the audience was
made to take different sides as the show moved forward and enabled the
public to see how to deal with different social and cultural issues
of the society. If the American entrepreneurs can fund such shows around
the globe where people can think and ponder on both sides of the issue,
we can see seeds of democracy germinating on the planet earth.
Pakistan
is ripe for democracy; a majority of her people believes in it. We cannot
“Bush out terrorism” with bombs, we can certainly erase
it through dialogue, education and patience. We need a 20 year plan
to change a whole new generation into thinking, believing, seeing, breathing
and living democracy in their day to day life. It will take a generation
to bring it about a sustainable democracy.
Mike
Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker, Writer and a Moderator. He is
president of the Foundation for Pluralism and is a frequent guest on
talk radio and local television network discussing Pluralism, politics,
Islam, Religion and civic issues. He is the founding president of World
Muslim Congress with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the
world. His comments, news analysis, opinions and columns can be found
on the Websites and Blogs listed at his personal website www.MikeGhouse.net.
Mike is a Dallasite for nearly three decades and Carrollton is his home
town. He can be reached at [email protected] or
(214) 325-1916
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