The failures of power

Abdoulaye Wade, the President of the Republic of Senegal, has an excellent and straightforward critique of sanctions on Zimbabwe and their autocratic leader, Robert Mugabe.

Sanctions are not helpful

It is a welcome and important truth that the West needs to face more openly and honestly as the West and America face their failures of the last 6 years or so (as well as the hundreds of years before that, as well, obviously).

It is the nature of power, in my experience, now. People who have it rarely like to give it up. They take credit for anything good that happens while they have it. And they disavow any failures or inhumanity that occur during their reign and with their use of power.

It very much makes me thankful for democracy, where people have power for only short periods of time. And where the powerful can be replaced easily and regularly.

Because everyone wants to believe that they are successful in their efforts, no matter how much they fail. And those with power who engage in such self-defense do so most dangerously, because their defenses involves the most serious issues we face with the power to coerce, strong-arm, overwhelm, and otherwise abuse their neighbors.

That goes for Robert Mugabe and many of his rightful critics in the West.

Abdoulaye Wade is just right. And most of his critics are just wrong. And what all of us have in common is that we all rightly value the ability to sort out such issues out of our own judgments and consciences, as much as possible, and the difficulty that is involved with admitting when we might be wrong, and allowing better wisdom and more effective action to be taken instead.

It's the singular most serious and common pride of liberal and illiberal peoples throughout history. We have such a hard time admitting when we are wrong.

And many people are often hurt in the meantime.

In Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe. And in the rest of the illiberal and liberal countries around the world.

The difference in the liberal world is that there is more room for better ideas to surface given more freedom for their expression and discussions and critiques of problems that can be more freely engaged.

Liberal peoples of the world perpetually take it for granted. And their illiberal neighbors wonder why they are so insistent that everyone else take liberal values seriously when they so regularly fail to do so themselves.

People like Abdoulaye Wade are right. And most people are wrong. And most people don't want to hear it or face it.

All I want for Christmas is for one person to admit they might be wrong about this one. Just one. Everyone else can have their sanctimony for the holidays. I just want one person to acknowledge the possibility that maybe we've taken a wrong turn in the last 6 years or so.

And maybe a girlfriend who I can talk with and who knows better that love and thoughtfulness offer the most powerful and honest progress for the human condition than anything sanctimony and self-pity and those who would protect it could ever offer.

I have work to do and gifts to wrap. Merry Christmas, everyone.

As Tiny Tim would say, "God bless us. Every one."

Love,
Ben