There is only ONE country in the middle east where arabs can democraticaly elect...

[Heresson]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara


There is a large Arab community in the SouthWest of Iran.

In Khuzistan. But that doesn't change the fact that Iran isn't Arabic.

That's the ethnic description for Egypt. I don't see Arab mentioned in there anywhere, which does actually surprise me a little. However the point is that the Egyptians have been there for thousands of years, and the Arab ethnic group did not displace them when they invaded. So Egypt is ethnically less of an Arab country than say, Israel.

The same can be said about any "Arabic" country except for Saudi Arabia. Egypt is speaking Arabic today, so it is Arabic.

[Az]

speaking arabic is nothing. language alone doesn't constitute anything. Culture, however, is the leading factor.

[Heresson]

Muslim-Arabic culture is dominant in Egypt. Egypt was one of the regions where Arabic culture's fundaments were found.

[laurentius]

Azazel, it's funny you said Athens wasnt a democracy. Democracy is Athens. You know "democracy" originally meant tyranny of the majority, the current western democracy is closer to "politeia". Check your facts dude, and then say Athens wasnt a democracy

[Rogan Josh]

Why are Americans so obsessed with democracy? The US hasn't been one for a long time...

...but I don't see what is so wrong with that. There should be some mechanism for picking the best man for the job, and if that is present I don't see any reason why it has to be democracy. Don't get me wrong, I think democracy is usually the best way of picking the 'best man or woman or the job' so it is good for countries to be democratic, but democracy itself shouldn't be the final goal.

[Az]

Originally posted by laurentius
Azazel, it's funny you said Athens wasnt a democracy. Democracy is Athens. You know "democracy" originally meant tyranny of the majority, the current western democracy is closer to "politeia". Check your facts dude, and then say Athens wasnt a democracy

how is a handful of people governing the lives of hundreds of thousands with no accountability "democracy"?

remember, athens had lots of slaves and a handful of citizens.

[laurentius]

Originally posted by Azazel

how is a handful of people governing the lives of hundreds of thousands with no accountability "democracy"?

remember, athens had lots of slaves and a handful of citizens.

What are you talking about? Ancient athens had merely 100 000 inhabitants. Handful people? More like every free man->citizen had a vote and could be elected for usually one year term. No accountability? Whoot? They could get executed if ****ing things up. Lot of slaves? Yeah, like 30 %.

Again, atheinian form of democracy was "tyranny of the majority". I'm not talking about modern form of goverment that is misleadingly being called democracy.

[Az]

I always thought that slaves were the vast majority of people in Athenes.

[Heresson]

Not slaves, but metoikes or whatever it was called; citizens without citizenship. Only people whose both parents were Athenians had the rights of an Athenian