Liberty is for me…

We like to draw attention to the problems that exist in our country today, yet we live in a remarkably wealthy, peaceful and free society.

Steven Pinker writes in the New Republic, for example, that horrifying violence used to be commonplace:

Cruelty as entertainment, human sacrifice to indulge superstition, slavery as a labor-saving device, conquest as the mission statement of government, genocide as the means of acquiring real estate, torture and mutilation as routine punishment, the death penalty for misdemeanors and differences of opinion, assassination as a mechanism of political succession, rape as the spoils of war, pogroms as outlets of frustration, homicide as the major form of conflict resolution — all were unexceptional features of life for most of human history.

Outrageous practices of violence still exist in certain parts of the world: the gas chamber horror in the North Korean gulag, the bloodshed in the Middle East, the genocide in Sudan, the child slavery in Haiti, etc.

One of the most appalling cases is Zimbabwe, where a brutal dictator has completely devastated the country, deploying such tactics as genocide, land confiscation, lawlessness and arbitrary military rule. The country, once an African success story, currently suffers from a staggering 100,000% inflation and 80% unemployment. Opposition to the ruling regime is violently oppressed.

Yet it appears a peaceful revolution is now underway. The story of Morgan Tsvangirai and his Quixotic quest for President has long captured the international spotlight. In 2002, he may have won the vote but lost in an obviously rigged election. Last year media outlets around the globe ran photos of Morgan’s swollen face after he was violently tortured by the police:

Using sjamboks, army belts and gun butts, the soldiers attacked Tsvangirai until he passed out. One of the soldiers poured cold water all over Tsvangirai to resuscitate him. Tsvangirai regained consciousness again at around 1:30 a.m…. One vicious woman was left to work on him. She removed an army belt from her waist and used it to assault Tsvangirai until he passed out again.

News reports are announcing today that Morgan may have, in fact, peacefully taken over control of the Zimbabwe government. The dictator, Robert Mugabe, may have fled the country.

Should Morgan have succeeded in this peaceful overthrow of a brutal dictatorship, all advocates of peace and liberty from all walks of life have great cause to pause and celebrate.

Let us hope that he does not follow a similar path of his predecessor.