Yus,

To call off for now,I will just want to sum up what I have been saying all
along.
Our experience as an oppressed nation and people,our political struggle for
liberation and freedom.Our post colonial struggle,after the betrayal of the
struggle for independence, all sum up together should give us a solid ground
to stand in our efforts to build a society based on new human relationship.
We have all the time been told and convince that Western Democracy is the
only way forward for our development and civilisation as a people and
nation.this indoctrination has been going on since before  independence and
still claiming to be the right choice,more so after the fall of Eastern
Europe.
But our experience is different,not only that we have failed in copying
Western Democracy,but we also witness that Western Democracy have yet to
show good records to satisfy our desire of building a new nation based on
better human relationship.Many of us have lived and still living in the West
and have seen the injustice,the widening cap between the poor and the
rich,the science/technology of destruction,environmental disasters etc,etc.
I am convince that we have the resources to dig into our experience and
knowledge to build a new form of human relationship that suit our condition
and needs.This also mean that this new relationship will not entertain any
form of human exploitation and oppression(in all its forms) as the bases of
the new society.This form of relationship will give every individual the
chance of contributing to the development of the society and to enjoy the
fruits of this development  in regardless of the individuals social status.
This is very possible,we are human beings and could build a better society
for our self.There is no doubt that this demands a lot of thinking and
doing,but we must do it our self and every body must be involved in this
activity,whether you are a worker ,like myself or an intellectual like Sidi
Sanneh or a peasant like Samba.I am of that believed that we do not need to
wait until the likes of Jammeh are no more,we must start now to talk to each
other and exchange experience.Those days are gone when we are told that
there are no other alternatives to what we have now,the human mind is too
matured for that,there were those who have been thinking differently,we must
learn from their experience and failures to advance our course.
Have a nice time.

For Freedom
Saiks

----- Original Message -----
From: Yusupha Jow <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2000 3:25 AM
Subject: Re: US Election Card


> Saiks:
>
> 1) Yes, democracy, much like Marxism, is an ideal that cannot be practiced
in
> it's theoretical pure form.  This, however, does not mean that fair
elections
> that reflect the popular opinion of the people cannot be held. The concept
of
> democracy is not restricted to fair elections alone.
>
>
> 2) The landscape of American political decisions is not decided solely by
big
> business but also by the people.  I stated that it was one of the basic
> tenets of the democratic ideal by the following statement:
>
> <<A fair, open system that respects the rights of human beings and
> allows them to collectively influence the political system>>
>
>  There are many ways in which people can be influential in political
> decisions.  Individuals vote for issues at many levels and, therefore,
they
> do influence policy and social advancement.  Furthermore, I stated that
this
> can also be done through mass mobilizations.  In fact, I gave you three
> implicit examples where mass mobilizations have influenced policy.
>
> 3) My point about the president not being the end-all decision maker was
> stated to show that big businesses do not easily sway the president's
> decisions because of their financial contributions.  There are indeed
checks
> and balances that ensure that big business does not overwhelming influence
> decisions. The senate and congress are some of these checks and balances.
> Furthermore, a senator that casts votes based on  who contributed the most
> money towards their campaigns will be held accountable for their actions
come
> election time.  After all every lawmaker's voting record is accessible to
the
> public.
>
> 4) By the following statement it is clear that you tried to make an
> association between big business campaign contributions and favors granted
by
> the government:
>
> <<.Simple,if Yusufa Samba invest in the election campaign of the AFPRC,as
he
> is known to be doing,he doesthis not out of a love relationship with the
> AFPRC,but he expect in turn to be granted State contracts.>>
>
> Big businesses do invest in campaigns mainly out of self interest but this
> does not mean that they are granted overwhelming favors as in the case of
> this fictional Yusufa Samba.
>
> 5) On equality, it might be stated on paper.  But, at least this way,
there
> are laws in writing, that make the discrimination of an individual based
on
> creed, color etc. illegal.  The Amadou Jallow and Rodney King issues were
all
> breakdowns in the judicial system.  I don't think America is the only
country
> where civil right's violations occur.
>
> As I have stated before, if you cannot prove that America does not come
close
> to fulfilling the democratic ideals, there is no point in making rash
> condemnations.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
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