Why Bush Should Concede the Election

I'm not gonna lie, when Bush speaks about spreading freedom and democracy, its stirring for me. The passion in his voice sounds authentic and heartfelt to me. And there is a place in the world for that kind of sentiment.

But there is a fundamental flaw in his worldly pursuits, and this is it:

You cannot give democracy to people.

They have to want it for themselves. They have to take it for themselves. Most importantly, they have to make it their own. And for Bush to assume he can simply offer his brand of it to struggling people, and expect a peaceful 'thank you' is arrogant and ultimately ineffective. If we want to encourage democracy we should offer the assistance, not force the it.

Bush misunderstands what democracy is, what makes it flourish, and what it is inside people that makes them want it. Its not that John Kerry is everything this world needs. It's that Bush is everything this world does not need. Bush's administration is secretive, it is power hungry, and it is corrupt. But what makes his administration a failure is its unique misunderstanding of democracy, it's belief that it knows democracy better than the people who practice it. John Kerry does not harbour this misunderstanding.

In retrospect it was almost inevitable that Team Bush would fail as it has. It was elected by a corrupt system, a system put in place by people who misunderstood democracy (see Florida 2000). This leads to the possibility of a scary conclusion.

How long has the system been corrupt? How long has the game been rigged? It would seem to me that since day one (July 4th 1776) people have been able to work our democracy to their favor. But none of the previous administrations had much success when they maintained such contempt for democracy in action. If Team Bush wins this election then they will won the power they have sought, and we will have given up the power given to us so many years ago.

In some ways, it seems that there is a finite amount of power in the world. Democracies are the best way to most evenly divide that power. Corrupt democracies are almost worse that dictatorships because the imbalance of power is disguised as non-existant.

The real winner of the 2000 election was Corruption. And I fear our democracy might not recover from another round going to Corruption. If either Bush or Kerry wins on account of a rigged election, we all lose. The power of our democracy may never return to us. Without the power in our hands we may not be able to encourage the democracy in the world that we would like to encourage.

There is one person who can return that power to us.

He sits in the White House, and he spends his time misunderstanding.

George, if your reading this, you must concede the election one day before the election. This will ensure an honest election that results in a win for John Kerry, for the American people, and for the world. It is the only way to rightfully preserve our democracy, and thereby right our course in our quest for the rightful spread of democracy throughout the world. If you truly believe in democracy for the US and for the world you must concede.