Growing tired of way media. press, politicians, Obama insist on talking about democracy [now viz Egypt] as if it's simply defined by voting - voting is but the logical consequence of all the other rights and freedoms and cultural wherewithals that precede it, prepare the way - and voting is quite frankly the weakest link in the chain because voters make mistakes all the time - we're living with a rather big mistake right now. What truly defines democracy is a toleration of change borne of a freedom from dictatorial authority and tyrannical absolutism purchased through the securing of individual rights - the right to free speech, open debate, a free press, free association, the right to private property and a private conscience - and all these rights protected by a transparent and independent judiciary that answers ultimately to the people through an elected, representative and responsive assembly - the voting part is practically an afterthought, an answer to the question 'well, we've freely and openly debated this thing from all sides - now how the hell do we decide what to do?'
Egypt wasn't a democracy under Morsi, it was tyranny by a different name - and until the political function of Islam is forced from Muslim polities, whatever replaces Morsi is like to be a species of tyranny too. Obama won't say this because he's loathe to saying anything that might be seen as impugning Islam - but it's not to impugn Islam, it's simply to state a fact - if democracy is defined by freedom from absolutism then there's no such thing as democracy in a place where absolutist claims can take away freedom - I guess you can think of such a place as a limited democracy if you want, but that's sort of a nonsensical statement in keeping with she's a little bit pregnant - when it comes to democracy, you're either pregnant or you're not.
