INTRODUCTION
We live in a time when the call for freedom and democracy echoes
across the globe. Eastern Europe has cast
off the totalitarian governments of almost half a century, and
the republics of the former Soviet Union are
struggling to replace the Communist regime of almost 75 years
with a new democratic order, something they
could never before experience. But the drama surrounding the
extraordinary political changes in Europe
obscures the remarkable degree to which the promise of democracy
has mobilized peoples throughout the world.
North and South America are now virtually a hemisphere of
democracy; Africa is experiencing an unprecedented
era of democratic reform; and new, dynamic democracies have taken
root in Asia.
This worldwide phenomenon belies the skeptics who have
contended that modern liberal democracy is a
uniquely Western artifact that can never be successfully
replicated in non-Western cultures. In a world where
democracy is practiced in nations as different as Japan, Italy,
and Venezuela, the institutions of democracy can
legitimately claim to address universal human aspirations for
freedom and self-government.
Yet freedom's apparent surge during the last decade by no
means ensures its ultimate success. Chester E.
Finn, Jr., professor of education and public policy at Vanderbilt
University and director of the Educational
Excellence Network, said in remarks before a group of educators
and government officials in Managua,
Nicaragua: "That people naturally prefer freedom to oppression
can indeed be taken for granted. But that is not
the same as saying that democratic political systems can be
expected to create and maintain themselves over
time. On the contrary. The idea of democracy is durable, but its
practice is precarious."
Democratic values may be resurgent today, but viewed over
the long course of human history, from the
French Revolution at the end of the 18th century to the rise of
one-party regimes in the mid-20th century, most
democracies have been few and short-lived. This fact is cause
for neither pessimism nor despair; instead, it
serves as a challenge. While the desire for freedom may be
innate, the practice of democracy must be learned.
Whether the hinge of history will continue to open the doors of
freedom and opportunity depends on the
dedication and collective wisdom of the people themselves--not
upon any of history's iron laws and certainly not
on the imagined benevolence of self- appointed leaders.
Contrary to some perceptions, a healthy democratic society
is not simply an arena in which individuals pursue
their own personal goals. Democracies flourish when they are
tended by citizens willing to use their hard-won
freedom to participate in the life of their society--adding their
voices to the public debate, electing
representatives who are held accountable for their actions, and
accepting the need for tolerance and compromise
in public life. The citizens of a democracy enjoy the right of
individual freedom, but they also share the
responsibility of joining with others to shape a future that will
continue to embrace the fundamental values of
freedom and self-government.
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