Democracy is...human

What does democracy mean to you? Democracy is more than just ballot boxes, politicians, and foreign policies. Democracy is freedom, democracy is empowerment, democracy is humanity. The context of democracy may vary from country to country and culture to culture, but the basic tenets are universal.

Photo: Democracy is the coexistence of different religions, freedom to worship, freedom from worship, freedom to be an individual without having your religion required on an identity card.

From (many of) the same organizations who brought you the Democracy Video Challenge comes the Democracy Photo Challenge.

The Challenge

Take a photo that completes the phrase Democracy is… and share it with the world.

The Prize

Special exhibition of your photo at the United Nations and at galleries in New York and Los Angeles.

The Timeline

* July 7 – July 28 – Submit Photos
* July 28 – Submission Deadline, Midnight GMT
* Aug 19 – Online Voting Commences – International Photography Day
* Sept 15 – Winners Announcement – United Nations Day of Democracy

The Details

* You must be 18 or older to enter.
* Submissions must be original photographs (digital or analog) taken by the submitter.
* Contestants may enter anonymously.

Visit the website for more information and to see photo entries.

Here are some photos of mine that I could enter. With the exception of the last one, taken in Nicosia, Cyprus at the open border crossing, they were taken in Beirut.

Democracy is seeing the glass as half full, not half empty. It isn't easy. Getting people to cooperate for the greater good of society is a daunting task. Does democracy have its problems? Heck yes, a great number of them. But consider the alternatives: dictatorship, dictatorship, dictatorship. No matter what form a government claims to have - monarchy, communism, theocracy, fascism, sheikhdom, etc. - a dictatorship is a dictatorship is a dictatorship. Though there may be bumps along the way, democracy gives you the freedom to travel the road of life in your own vehicle (though speed limit signs may be posted so you don't endanger the lives of others.)

Democracy is information and access to it. Freedom of speech and press are essential components of democracies, as well as the right of people to peaceably assemble to exchange information. Transparency in government and access to public documents make a government of the people by the people for the people. In democracies, websites aren't blocked, and people aren't arrested for posting negative comments about a president on Facebook. A democracy facilitates access to information by ensuring people have access to technology through updated infrastructure, fair regulation over telecomms companies, and provision of access through public libraries, school equipment, and government websites that give the people transparent information.

Democracy is economic opportunity and empowerment, workplace safety laws, labor rights, unions, fair compensation, entrepreneurship, property rights, access to capital, strong institutions, private sector participation in policymaking, good governance, no corruption...Democracy doesn't discriminate against race or ethnicity or religion.

Democracy is hard work, yes, but in a democracy, there is no line on the horizon - the possibilities of life are endless!

Democracy allows people hope for the future.

Democracy is peace. The oft used phrase "democracies don't fight democracies" is true. Security, safety, peace of mind, these are the things that democracy brings. When people have control over their own destinies, when they have enough food to eat and a roof over their head and healthcare when they are sick, they tend to be content. Of course there are exceptions - there are always exceptions. It's called life. But generally, in stable, strong democracies, people enjoy their rights and tolerate the enjoyment of rights by others.


Democracy has gotten a bad rap for various reasons, and the whole West versus East mentality to which people on both sides of the Atlantic stubbornly cling has much to do with that. Look, democracy isn't perfect. Everyone knows that. No form of governing can be perfect, because it's people who do the governing, and we all know how flawed is the homosapiens species (and the sub-species politicus sapius is even more flawed than the average Joe or Yusef or Jose.) But I'll take a voice in things that affect my life over someone telling me how to live any and every day I am sipping that sweet, sweet oxygen that keeps us roaming this tiny rock we call Earth.

A History Lesson

The National Endowment for Democracy held a conference entitled “Middle Eastern Democrats and their Vision for the Future” with a full cast of high profile democracy types from across the Middle East and Washington.

Before reporting on the day’s acts, I must give a bit of a prologue regarding NED. Think what you will about democracy promotion, but please note that it has its roots in noble minds. There is a name for those who oppose human freedom – in English we call them tyrants.

The NED was established in 1983 by congressional mandate. While NED has its own programs, it has the greater responsibility of managing funding from Congress to its four core institutes – the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the International Republican Institute (IRI), the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), and the Solidarity Center. The activities of NDI and IRI are well-known – NDI is the Democratic Party’s political reform program and IRI is the Republican Party’s. CIPE is an affiliate of the United States Chamber of Commerce, and Solidarity Center is an affiliate of the American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

Current NED and core institute programs in Lebanon include:

NED - You can find a list of NED projects in Lebanon here.

NDI - NDI is very active in Lebanon, helping the Civil Campaign for Electoral Reform and Lebanon Budget Project and groups like Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, Development for People and Nature Association, Nahwa al-Muwatiniya, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, and a coalition of seven civic organizations to implement Citizen Lebanon, a civic education and advocacy program taking place in 30 municipalities across the nation.

IRI - IRI does polling and political party development in Lebanon.

CIPE - Lebanese Anti-Bribery Network with Lebanese Transparency Association

SC (none)

Each of these programs involves local Lebanese NGOs who seek to improve democracy in the country. These are hardworking folks who rise above politics and put the good of their country first. I’ve met many of them, and they all are inspiring human beings. There’s nothing cooler in the world than to watch democracy in action (real democracy involving real people doing real things for their country not involving bombs, religions, or egos).

What I’m getting at is that despite an occasional controversy and the persistent conspiracy theories regarding NED programs, NED really does have people at heart. Is there a national security element to democracy promotion? Of course. The old adage “democracies don’t fight other democracies” tells us that we are safer with more democracies in the world.

Quite honestly, if you meet staff of one of these organizations, you’ll come to find that they’re all a bunch of bleeding hearts intent on saving the world from its own mutually assured destruction.

I suppose I had to perform this narrative because I’ve often been confronted by anti-NED rhetoric and accusations that NED and its core institutes are a front for the CIA! (Can we say X-Files?) The bottom line is that NED and its core institutes do great work.

Up next: Part two of this NED event - a post about what actually transpired at the event.

Power of the People

Democracy. Derived from the Greek words δῆμος (dêmos) "people" and κράτος (krátos) "power." What an odd race we are, us humans, to make such a simple concept so needlessly complicated. Power of the people. Control over our own lives. Except for this group and that group. No votes for you! No representation for you! You can only vote for a Christian, and you, a Muslim!

Today is Election Day in the United States. The US Constitution mandates that Election Day be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, but the way the federal system works makes odd numbered years rather dull, or in political terms "use three or four electoral races in the country and pretend the outcomes will predict what will happen in the next year." As someone with a degree in Political Science, I am something of a political junkie, which can be frustrating, depressing, and disillusioning at times.

See, democracy is not about getting everything you want. It's about compromise. Now, I wasn't around in 1789 when the founders of this country drafted the US Constitution and then went about holding elections and all, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't as toxic as today's electoral races seem to be. Case in point - one of the most watched election races today is a special election for the NY-23 congressional district. Why? Because a form of rightwing extremism has so polluted one of the two parties in this country that the actual candidate for that party was trashed by those deeming her too "moderate," and she ended up dropping out of the race at the last minute. So the race is between a third party candidate whose ideology is more in line with the extremists than not and a member of the other party, a party which hasn't won that seat for 140 years.

Alright, I've waded too far into the realm politique and probably should pull back a bit. My point is that in some regards, the US has gotten to the point where compromise is akin to treason. What is happening now, what has been happening for a decade or two or even three is that the system has shown cracks. Allegations of voter fraud abound - some based on evidence, most based on wild paranoia - and today, in NY-23, supporters of the extremist candidate are violating electioneering laws and trying to intimidate voters who don't agree with their narrow world views.

Which reminds me of Lebanon. Because compromise seems to be a dirty word in Lebanese politics. What Lebanon has is not democracy. Sure, there are votes and ballots (if you can call them that) and all that, but the only institutions in the country are confessional groups who won't put the quasi-democratically elected government together because what is compromise but a sign of weakness, right?

Then I started thinking about our electoral problems here in the US and I thought, it isn't as bad as it seems (or as the media makes it out to be). I only wish that Americans would stop taking their democracy for granted, because when you look at a country like Lebanon (or worse - Egypt), and you see the people thirsting for real freedom and democracy and not getting it, not getting their human rights, well, it should make a person with a soul want to embrace what they have. The cracks are nothing. They can be repaired as long as we do something about it and not wait for the levee to break. But Lebanon? The levee breaks, and still politicians are squabbling over - what do they even squabble over? - while they're all drowning in the sea that has engulfed them.

It's these people who give democracy a bad name, who have created capital D Democracy, ideology masked as real democracy or used to dismiss real democracy. These are the ones who drag democracy through the miry clay, use it to promote their own political agendas, while real people suffer and real people die. Capital D Democracy is not democracy.

Democracy is a fundamental human right. It's like a gift. Control over our lives, our destinies. But it can be used and abused and we as human beings are the ones who are tasked to protect it from those who seek to destroy it. It's a tough job, it really is, but human beings haven't survived for 10,000 years (or whatever it is) because they are incapable of progress. We are capable of organization, of action, and we see it everyday in the projects and activities of civil society. Civil society is the backbone, the heart, the very essence of democracy.

Like those Greeks told us, we survive because someone managed to shut Pandora's box in time to save Hope.