Recently Mark Udall pressed charges against a group of people that refused to leave his office. And in doing so he supported a fundamental pillar of democracy.
Democracy requires, absolutely requires, that while we campaign and lobby and persuade, that we then accept the results. And if it's important enough, we continue to campaign and lobby and persuade to try and change things. But refusing to accept the result, to demand that your wishes override those of all others - that is totalitarianism.
How does this relate to protesters filling Congressman Udall's office and refusing to leave? Well if 40 people who feel strongly enough about an issue can shut down a Congress-person's office, then we would shortly have every congressional office in the country shut down - some by groups insisting that we increase the troops in Iraq. We cannot have a functioning democracy if every congressional office is shut down.
What is even more insane in this case is that Mark Udall clearly agrees with the goals of the protesters. They aren't protesting his goals, they are merely protesting his decision on how to reach those goals. He may be right, he may be wrong (I also think he's wrong) but they want to shut down his office because they disagree with him on how to do something, not if we should do it.
Yes getting out of Iraq is crucial and a matter of life and death for many. Darfur is a matter of life and death for many. Health Insurance is a matter of life and death for many. Global warming is a matter of life and death for many - animals as well as humans. Hell, even our farm policy is a matter of life and death for many farmers in the 3rd world.
So how can anyone say that the Iraq issue is so much more important than any of those others? And how can anyone be so sure that their way out is so much better than any of the other alternatives?
The protesters were very similar to the Republican mob in Florida delaying the recount of Gore/Bush. In both cases groups tried to bring government operations to a stop to further their aims. The ends do not justify the means.
