Right... So I'm not sure if you guys follow the news or not, but Hugo Chavez has most recently won the election.... Well, people say it's a dictatorship, but you know, the gap is closing. He only won by a margin of 10%, rather than the 20% last time.. So I ask you, is it really a dictatorship? I mean, he won, but people could vote. And are dictatorships really all that bad? I mean, sometimes great things have been done under dictator rule... :afro:
You might like this Sam101 http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/whatever-will-we-do-to-stop-democracy-in-venezuela/
If you don't mind all the bones and shit. But Hugo Chavez isn't a dictator. He's been reelected. If he was a dictator, there wouldn't have been an election.
There are a few million people who would beg to differ lol. But yes, one would think that a true dictator would not have elections. But if one has majority control over the biggest corporations, and they can sway the vote that way, is it still democracy? :afro:
I can't name a democracy where that isn't the case. And if the fact that the losing side isn't happy about it means that it's a dictatorship, then every representational government in history has been a dictatorship.
BINGO! We have a winner!!! Democracy is nothing more that 3 wolves and 1 sheep deciding what to have for dinner! So democracy doesn't work, dictatorship doesn't work, communism doesn't work, so WTF DOES work? Anyone who can come up with the answer and create a world utopia has my vote
Usually trying to create a utopia seems to lead to the worst governments. Usually because SOMEONE is getting in the way of a perfect world.
What I don't understand is why people discount Hugo's accomplishments. Look at the good he has done before look at the bad. When you do that and compare them to the US, you just may find little difference, and a chance that Venezuela may have a better standing than the US.
Same could technically be said about Castro too. However, I think he was a little bit more extreme than Chavez is. They say he is anti-American, well, if the CIA kidnapped you, held you hostage, and your people needed to pull you out, yeah... I think that would go a long way to hurt anyone's feelings. In terms of Monarchy.. Isn't Monarchy technically a dictatorship? I mean, I think we might be just talking labels here. In a dictatorship, one person rules, in a monarchy one person rules... Or am I missing something here? (Honestly, I'm too lazy to go look it up right now )
I hear people say that the way Chavez is running Venezuela is wrong. It's "unAmerican". Well, YEEE-AAAAAH! What the hell do you expect? IT'S VENEZUELA! NOT THE US! Think about that for just a moment. What kind of freedom can America push when ultimately they want other countries to operate like America? Talk about an international dictatorship! All countries should have the right to be free to operate as they wish. If they want a positive and beneficial relationship with America, great! If they don't, great! The freedom to be themselves has got to be the greatest freedom known. We owe it to the world to allow other countries that very right. Even if it means having really scary people, like Iran, to have nuclear weapons. If anything.... I think Roy Rogers said it best- "An armed society is a polite society." If Iran has nukes (which is just a matter of time, really), then I bet we'll have less wars in the sandbox. At least less wars that America will be involved in.
I have visited Venezuela yearly for the past 10 years. I clearly see improvement for their society as a whole. I expect the government has paid for those improvements from oil money........which if you think about things, is better put to use building hospitals and schools than in British Petroleum or what was Shell Oil shareholders pockets. Why is someone who does things for the greater good of their society labelled as un-American or a dictator? There is also law and order in that country. Anyone who does criminal activity is locked away for a long time. They don't tolerate any sort of drugs whatsoever, they are neighbors to Columbia, and anyone found even trying to get drugs into Venezuela is locked away for decades. Most citizenry is very health concious, meaning they don't even like to smoke, but eating is a indulgement they like to do. So, in the end, a country with law and order, everyone can get good health care if needed, everyone gets an education, everyone gets lots of food to eat, everyone stays away from drugs. So, from a Canadians point of view, who is better off: Venezuelans or Americans?
Just found out this AM- Hugo Chavez has passed away. I wrote him a few times asking for an autographed pic. No response.
part of the answer is: don't be a utopian. utopias, by their nature, are static and perfect. humans, by their natures, are constantly evolving and imperfect. therefore a utopia can only ever tend towards totalitarianism and authoritarian control, it must always be a perfect system forced onto imperfect beings, with no room for change. oppressing people, never representing them. a "perfect" society is one which is never finished, never perfected, always improving. maybe even in a state of permanent revolution. anyway, back on point. Chavez seemed like a guy who governed for his people, and its a sad day for the world when that's something notable about the leader of a country. it seems like "dictator" is synonym for "guy who doesn't follow our economic foreign policy". can you blame him? look what america's foreign policies did for columbia. and what about Pinochet? i'm not surprised South American countries are beginning to resist.
