We love democracy but cannot depend on the governments we elect

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Jun 29, 2022 at 14:28

Dear Dr Pipes,

M Tovey's above letter in which he asks how does one support Israel but simultaneously aid her enemies, prompts me to write this response. Mr. Tovey asked a very pertinent question. Unfortunately, citizens of a democracy cannot fully trust the governments that they elect. The Israels of our world will not be supported by various national governments around the world. They will have to be supported by the people around the world who believe in the values that Israel espouses and her enemies abhor.

Winston Churchill knew that democracies are fundamentally flawed much earlier and much better than any one of us. Churchill said it decades ago that democracy was the worst form of government barring all others. Churchill was right. Non-democratic governments sooner or later become "rogue" governments and democratic governments also eventually get compromised by selfish divide-and-rule politics. We, the people, cannot always assume that our democratically elected governments will preserve the values that we want to be preserved and not to get compromised. I fully believe that democracy is the best system of governance and the US democracy is the best among all democracies. Despite this belief I also believe that the US government is or will be compromised.

Citizens will have to defend their beliefs themselves using the methods available to them. I, as a Hindu living in the USA, will have to help Israel on my own whether the US government defends her or not. And, that is because I believe in the Israel's values more than I believe in the values of her enemies. I will need to buy Israeli products whenever I can get hold of them, will have to visit Israel if/when I can, and will have to read the Israeli newspapers whenever I get hold of them. And --most importantly-- I will need to speak for Israel.

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