Mr. Frum’s ridicule of the imbecile appeasement philosophy guiding our foreign policy is bang on [From Ramallah, Harper’s First Big Test, David Frum, Jan. 31.]. However, by calling Western countries “democracies,” Mr. Frum appears to have bought into the insidious gimmick that allowed a vicious terrorist organization like Hamas to get elected.
Ever since the discrediting of communism, leftists have been championing a purposely vague thing called “democracy” as the essence of political freedom. But democracy in the true, historical sense means unlimited majority rule — which leads to mob rule, erosion of liberty and self-destruction, as in ancient Greece.
Aware of this problem, America’s Founding Fathers created a constitutional republic based on the principle of the individual’s right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” regardless of majority vote.
Protecting individual rights is the essence of liberty. Leftists have downplayed individual rights, pushed “freedom to vote” as the essence of liberty, hoodwinking many into equating democracy with liberty. One major consequence has been the erosion of individual rights protection in Western countries such as Canada and America; another has been in foreign policy.
The West’s focus on pushing the “right to vote” instead of the protection of individual rights has led to the grotesque spectacle of enemies of liberty being voted into power.
Right-leaning intellectuals like Mr. Frum should help expose this fraud and choose their words more carefully.
