Posted on 02/27/2016 5:37:47 AM PST by Kaslin
As our presidential election cycle heats up, many of us tire of the inevitable loss of civility that accompanies this quaternary ritual of rhetoric in American culture. The taunts, ad hominem attacks and petulant refusal to unite in reasonable discourse are reminiscent of grammar school playgrounds rather than the august halls of the seat of democracy. Certain elements of our society seem to place more emphasis on the scrum than on the putative policies the next leader of the free world might embrace. The constant din of the omnipresent talking heads can cause many to despair of the very process that is designed to ensure the greatest nation in the world stays the course of greatness.
However, a mere ninety-minute flight from Miami transports one from a world of a war of words to a world of a war of bullets, burning tires and death. In Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, where I live, the fragile democracy is clouded in intrigue, blood and tear gas. Accusations fly, not of who voted for what immigration bill but of who absconded with the most funds, jailed innocents or generally contributed to the ubiquitous graft.
The once beautiful capital, Port-au-Prince, heralded by Napoleon as more valuable to France than the Port of New Orleans, is now shrouded in smoke from burning tires, polling buildings and gunfire. The almost daily manifestations halt commerce and turn away cruise ships, further crushing the extreme poor and rendering the disenfranchised more desperate.
As the U.S. presidential election cycle moves forward to what we expect will be a peaceful day at the polls come November, Haiti's most recent presidential election was postponed multiple times and ultimately cancelled because of violence and rioting. One of the candidates even refused, after earning a place on the ballot, to participate in the process. It's rumored he has received death threats from opposing candidates, and his response shows it's likely more than idle gossip.
The recent turmoil surrounding the election process is not new to Haiti. There have been some 32-coup d'états in Haiti since its liberation from the French in 1804. The Pearl of the Antilles, the nation born of struggle, continues the violence that initially liberated it. As we contemplate our long political season ahead of us, let's consider that however raucous our elections, they are certainly ensconced in the fabric of civility that our Founders crafted.
While many of our potential candidates may hurl insults at one another, at least they aren't hurling stones. And when it's clear they aren't going to be able to secure the support to continue, they bow out gracefully, rather than inflaming disenfranchised youth to riot in the streets on their behalf. We may bemoan the war of words our process entails, but let us be grateful it hasn't become a war of bullets. Let's encourage one another to be more civil, as there is always room for more kindness, but may we also remember those in Haiti and other places around the world where "civil unrest" has truly become an oxymoron of titanic proportions.
Civility??
We elect LIARS for TWO (at least) cycles who do the EXACT OPPOSITE of what they swore to do..............
.........and YOU bitch about lack of CIVILITY????
ARE YOU FOR REAL?
or Jared Loughner...for all the posturing over Gabby Giffords, he was a looney leftist, and *killed* a Federal Judge.
or "Black Lives Matter."
...
The sewer that is Hati just doesn’t matter
Civility!
I have noticed anytime conservatives fight back, there is a call for “civility”.
As long as the left is bashing those that live in fly over country, it is okay. It is only bad if they don’t turn around, bend over and say “please may I have another, sir”
Those that are complaining about the tone of this campaign show they no nothing of our history. Elections in the past got very heated at times. Look at political cartoons from the 1800 and early 1900 if you want to see really nasty politics.
I think the fellow is missing some important points.
One of them is the matter of how much is at stake. In Haiti the government is and always has been the route to wealth and comfort - nearly the only one, or the gatekeeper of any other.
Elsewhere more fortunate, not so.
In the US with the growth of government the stakes are rising. Who controls the government matters more and more, as it encroaches everywhere. If your coalition doesn’t control it, your enemies are free to ruin you. And there are more and more people who depend on government for all they have.
So Haiti-politics is coming here. Too much is at stake.
What Mr Connor, a Haitian is doing is comparing the current presidential campaign to everyday life in Haiti. What he misses is, the United States is headed in the same direction as Haiti.
Graft and corruption are SOP in Haiti and becoming more so that way in federal, state and local governments here.
Gang and mob violence is common in Haiti and quickly becoming so here.
Think for just a minute or 10 seconds really and tell me what many, if not most of our large cities have in common with the nation of Haiti.
CORRUPTION. Maybe
Anti-Trump zealots, aka GOPe sheep are starting to feel the pain of the fall.
Unleash The Trumpian
Most likely what attracted Trump to the process...
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