Saiks:
Thanks for your response.  As I suspected, your distrust of the West and its'
unjust past and present policies towards Africa is preventing you from
viewing democracy by itself as a separate conceptual ideal.

We should not allow ourselves view democracy as a concept restricted to the
West only.  Instead, we should try to adhere to the basic tenets that this
concept entails:

1.  As close to a free and fair elections as possible.  This, so that we can
be governed justly at every level.

2.  A system that offers our people the opportunity to advance socially,
economically, and politically.

As I alluded to earlier, democracy (dem - a - crazy -  as the great Fela Kuti
once called it) is neither absolute nor perfect in any given setting.
Different practicing countries have tailored this system to work with their
cultures and social beliefs.  After all, the system is practiced slightly
differently in countries like Japan, Norway, and the US.  In the same vein,
African countries need not adhere to the system like it is practiced in the
West.  But tailor the system to meet cultural considerations while at the
same time trying as much as possible to adhere to the basic ideals of this
system.

Saiks, do not think for one minute that I am pro-establishment because of the
stance I have taken.  I am a student of history and political science that
understands fully the legacy of the West.  However, to critique the concept
of democracy effectively, we must view it as it's own separate concept.

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