Re: On Islamic radicalism and the left by Don Hamerquist
On Aug 17, 2006, at 3:38 PM, Bryan Atinsky wrote:
Yoshie Furuhashi wrote: >
In principle, we have to accept other peoples’ choices even when
those aren’t choices we make for ourselves, unless they make war on us or exterminate an ethnic group or do both, a la fascists: e.g., the Palestinian people voted for Hamas this January, so others – including all Israelis — should have accepted that choice, rather than organizing economic boycotts of it, kidnapping elected Hamas leaders, destroying Gaza again, and so on.You know, I agree with you here in practice, but not in principal.
What does it mean to respect an other’s choices in a democratic election?
Yoshie’s quick to point out the low participation rates in US
elections whenever someone argues that Americans have more or less
chosen their rulers. Hamas got about 45% of the popular vote, less
than George W did in 2000 and 2004.
Doug