The Kingdom of Democracy Pt. 1

As I sit here, its Friday night. We have just heard the Friday night prayers that are heard city-wide. They tend to go longer these nights. We are also looking forward to celebrating our first independence day. It is ushered in with lots of fireworks blasting in the streets. From my knowledge, this country gained independence from J---- within the last century. The I---------- rose up against the J------- to gain it and thus they have celebrated the freedom of a (quasi-) democratic state.
As I sat in on some classes the other day, the teacher led a discussion revolving around the Roman Republic. Though she gave more insight from a democratic state, she asked the students to think why they should vote. For their own good, or for the good of the state; perhaps the summum bunom. She also asked the students if something akin to a democracy is what is the best form of government.
America just celebrated her 232 birthday last month. The presidential elections are in full swing now. Barak Obama and Hilary Clinton will face off in the DNC in September. The slogan I read about today was that they want to 'unite the party' and that the millions of votes cast for Hilary would be 'listened to;' the mantra of democratic America. This election has seen, so I am told, an unprecedented challenge as thought-to-be-underdog McCain and first-African-American-presidential-nominee-of-a-major-party Obama face off in the last few months of their campaigns. A campaign that stresses and urges, 'Every Vote Counts.' Freedom is never free, and 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' are the core ethics which the United States was built upon.
I recently finished taking my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certificate through online classes with the London Teachers Training College. I paid them $325 and received a 115 page manual of how to teach English to students. It was a surprise to me that they suggested children not be punished, and that a teacher shouldn't lecture-- these things don't favor a democratic classroom. Instead, teachers need to facilitate and discipline isn't a means to and end. The classroom needs to make every child feel special, like they count.
I don't have anything against Democracy; I rather like it. I am thankful for the men and women who died to purchase a democratic freedom for me. I am grateful to my grandfather and all those who have fought in wars to keep liberty. I hope no one misunderstands me. Democracy is, I believe, the greatest man-made form of government out there. But that is what it is, 'man-made.'
It is interesting to me to see how democracy, liberty, individual votes have infiltrated everything in our society. Whether it be social functions, politics, schools, even Churches-- everything is drawing closer to a democratic form of rule. Authority and submission rarely have a place in our public schools or work places. Men and women are fighting about equal rights in and out of the home-sphere, and on and on the list could go. The wars of our recent past have been done in the honor and name of spreading democracy to foreign countries that have not known a democratic form of government in the history (which is longer than America's) of their existence. What are we to make of this?
My thought is, is that we are making democracy into the Gospel of the present day. Many men and women gladly (and I admire them) lay down their lives for the sake of democracy. Those caught up in social welfare are preaching equality and liberty and stopping the oppression of the needy (good things when viewed as being a means). Little school children are learning of the earnestness of spreading freedom values, and our conception of freedom has changed from submission and servanthood, to a freedom from all boundaries. Not even in Church (Protestants) can we have authoritarian rule, but we cast the majority vote. The lens through which we are interpreting life is democracy. The message of freedom we have for people is freedom from oppressive governments, social injustices, and inhumane treatments.
This leaves me with the begging question, 'Why?' Why is this what we hold dear? Is this the hope of a nation? Is this a comfort to people who are being oppressed? Why is democracy viewed as the end-all of governments and people? These are questions I would like to address in a series of blog posts as I am unwrapping this theme of democracy in my mind. I welcome challenges, agreements, and disagreements. I am a pilgrim on a journey. I am thankful that I am a pilgrim. I am thankful that I am on a journey. Being thus, I don't have all the answers, nor have I arrived.