7557: Re: 7516: Re: 7510: Re: 7466: Justice: Wilentz replies (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JRAuguste1@aol.com

Why don't you lead us down this mentioned path of defining and making 
democracy culture-specific P D Bellegarde-Smith. Give us a hint as to what 
you see when you think democracy and Haiti in the same thought. 

I am for keeping the definition and application of democracy constant 
wherever it should apply particularly when it comes to Haiti where everything 
seems to be "miraged" and diluted. 

For instance Haitians speak of Haitian dollar when in fact the Haitian 
Constitution's Article 6 indicates "L'unite Monetaire est: La Gourde. Elle 
est divisee en: Centimes". There is no Haitian monetary unit printed with the 
word "dollar" on it (front or back) and yet all you hear is "$ US" and 
"1.00H". I find that very confusing if not outright misleading and 
collectively dishonest. 

The same will apply to democracy once one starts defining it within a 
culture-specific context. In that case why not come up with a term to define 
exactly what you mean instead of capriciously bending and re-inventing the 
definition of a known universal concept such as democracy. 

You start on that slippery slope and next thing you know any beloved 
hypothetical leader can stump on your derriere whenever you critique his/her 
program while telling you with great fanfare "Hey this is our 
culture-specific democracy at work. Shut up." Not to mention the excited and 
exalted followers who, for example, can, with impunity, put your home under 
siege, throw fire bombs at your occupied dwelling, all under the watchful eye 
of the local police.

Could that possibly be some culture-specific democracy at work?

J-R. B. Auguste