The Iraqis held elections today and, according to Fox News, the turnout was about 60%. Not bad! The US, in a relative time of peace, only had a 60.7% voter turnout for the 2004 election and the last time prior to 2004 that we came close to 60% turnout was in 1968. This is certainly a turning point for Iraq.

There were some terrorists attacks but far fewer than were anticipated. Whether there number of attacks were down because of preparations taken by the US, coalition, and Iqaqi military or because the terrorist didn’t try too many attacks in immaterial. The Iraqi people did not know a priori whether there would be a lot or a few attakcs yet they turned out to vote anyway. They took the risk to vote in their first legitimate elections.

I heard some recent complaints about Iraq and all I can assume is that there are some serious sour grapes out there that the Iraqi people are free. One of the most frequently heard statements I’ve heard is that elections do not make a democracy. Well, certainly, whoever said they did. It is true that having elections does not suddenly create a democracy but it is a step in the eright direction. And not having elections is a sure sign that you do not have a democracy.

Americans have also become extremely impatient and have forgotten their history (if in fact they ever knew it). The US began its fight for independence in 1776 yet it was not until 1789 that we had a functionng constitution. Why then are we so upset that the Iraqi is not up and fully functioning? While the US was drafting its constitution our Founding Fathers were not hampered by bombs and terrorists. Given the length of time the fight for Iraqi freedam has been going on, it is amazing that we are at this point so soon.

And now, would all the liberal naysayers, all of the Democrats who swore that elections would not take place on 30 January, please step forward. I would like for them to once and for all admit they were flat out ill-informed and wrong. They were merely giving their biased opinions basede more on their haterd of the President than on any information they had.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying everything is over and rosy in Iraq. It isn’t. The Iraqi people have a long, difficult road ahead of them. US and coalition forces will be in Iraq for many years to come. We still have forces in Korea afterall so we should expect an immediate withdrawal of forces.

The biggest step for Iraq is changing opinions and attitudes of their own people. That is going to be difficult and will take a long time. For guidance let’s look closer to home for an example. After the Civil War was over, the slaves were free yet many chose to remain on the plantations as freemen. They remained there because they knew no other life and had no where else to go. The Iraqia know no other life than what they had under Saddam. It will take them a while to get used to doing things they could not do previously.

The Civil War also did not end racism. The Civil Rights Act was not passed until 1964 and there are still pockets of racism in the country. Fighting wars and passing laws does not change minds and hearts–that takes time. And the United States will be there for a great deal of that time.

There is much at stake with Iraq. This is not merely elections for Iraq and the begining of their freedom and independence, this is the beginging of democracy in the Middle East. Once Iraq is up and running and a little bit more stable, they will have a great influence on their neighbors. This is indeed a good day.