WHY THE WAR IS GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY

This war is good for democracy.

Now that might sound like a paradox. But trust me. There�s two ways in which the war is good for democracy. Let�s try a bit of spin on this � try to make something positive out of the war.

America installed Democracy2000 a couple of years ago. It didn�t really work very well : it didn�t obey the commands of the masses. The majority didn�t get what they want or who they voted for. Now, maybe I�m na�ve, but I think that America�s using Iraq as a guinea pig and going to pilot it�s latest, upgraded fully functional form of Democracy there.

Lets call it Democracy-XP. It�ll be new and improved. A bit flabby, yes. And the installation will undoubtedly be messy. There�s existing operating systems that need to be overwritten, and that�s never easy. BushRegimeChange 2003 will test the new Democracy-XP and iron out the bugs somewhere far away from anywhere that matters.

And if it works properly in Iraq, maybe they�ll install it in America. If it goes wrong there then hey it doesn�t really matter. Well, not too much. There�ll be some fireworks. Some dead soldiers. No big deal. America will have asserted itself.

That�s my hope. My ambition. That all of this damned illegal, obscene war is just the particularly difficult installation of a new form of Democracy � one that works � that America will eventually impose upon itself. And then maybe the champions of Democracy will finally get the product that they�ve been talking about all these years.

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

But closer to home, there�s another reason why this war is good for Democracy. Right here, in this country, now.

For decades politicians have attacked the �youth� for being apathetic about politics. But they�ve changed their mind now. If anything, politicians wish that the people would shut up and stop asking awkward questions.

For decades anyone under the age of about 35 has felt divorced from politics and politicians. We all know they�re lying, cheating scumbags. We all know that in a choice of two evils there is no choice, no option but withdrawal. We all know that whomever the politicians speak for, it isn�t us.

We saw the leaders of this country deliberately and maliciously ignore the will of the people. They dismissed the biggest protests seen in human history as irrelevant. They lied and cheated democracy. We saw them beg for our support, because they know they need us more than we need them.

And now, as they send our countrymen to kill and be killed in foreign countries for a war that the country doesn�t want, democracy has woken. People have crawled out of their Playstation slumber and spoken up.

The next election will see a sea change in this country. We, the people - the people that our Government is now begging for our support - will show them what happens when the Government breaks its electoral mandate. The job of Government is to represent the people.

When the Government doesn�t do its job, we the people will elect a Government that does.

This war is good for Democracy. It has woken up the apathetic people and shown them that we too, have the power. If we choose to exercise it. And we choose. Democracy is a freedom that we will lose if we choose not to use it.

Every day, and in every way, we can voice our opinions. We register our disgust in our actions : we can protest, and protest, and protest. And if our protests are ignored then there are other options. You know what they are : the will of millions of people will over-ride the wishes of the gilded few with some policemen and an army. Just ask President Milosevic.

If the wishes of the people are ignored, we no longer live in a democracy, and its time for Regime Change. This war is good for democracy : it will show us what our �democracy� truly is and how much power we, the people, truly have. Time to use it.