Tom,

>Democracy may not be for everyone. Just because it works for some countries does not mean it will work for all the nations of the world. Imposing doctrine upon others is not something to be taken lightly. Find your own path. Keep out of the path of others.

Completelly agreed! That's why I'm against US government plan to bring democracy to all countries in the globe. Should we let each country find its own path, like you said.

>I know people who have never voted and refuse to do so.

In Brazil voting is mandatory. I'm not sure if that's good or not, because the majority of our people votes unconcientiously, just because they "have to do it". a Huge amount of votes is wasted, and big chances for a good democratic system are lost. Many people say they "don't understand politics", they "don't like politics" etc. They're stupidly throwing their destiny (and of their other fellow citizens) to the trash can. I use to say: "Vote in whomever you like, but vote conciously, you may make a mistake, but it can be corrected in the next election. Develop your understanding about politics, try to follow the steps of your candidate, if gets elected, and see if he/she is doing what he/she said would do. You have a fantastic weapon in your hand, it's called vote!". Fortunatelly we, in Brazil, have quite solid democratic institutions now.

>how good a leader is or was. Another problem is that many people cannot agree as to what is good or bad. One mans meat is another mans poison.

We use to say in Brazil that the difference between medicine (a drug) and poison it's just the dosage.

Fernando