What a beautifully apt metaphor.
"Democracies" apt to have their bloom fade in rapid desert fashion.
Self-interest is the ultimate fertilizer for democracy. The right to personal property, to free speech, to security in their homes, effects, and papers are all powerful incentives to democratic reform. This is followed soon after by the rule of law, the enforcement of contracts, and the rise of a viable middle class.
As people, we dream. All of us. What I can't wait for is to see what happens to China once the emergence of a durable middle class is complete.
I had Rush on briefly and he commented about Russia, and about how the Soviets tried to parse out freedom gradually. Everyone has seen the result, the empire utterly collapsed. Once an oppressed people come into even incidental contact with freedom, and explosion occurs.
Iraq is the latest example, but others will follow in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and probably Iran. You can't parse out freedom.