A brief political outburst
05/11/15 05:15
I am no expert on politics. I have my opinions, like many others, but often I am reluctant to offer my opinions. I finding that doing so can stifle communication. I appreciate very much having friends with a wide variety of political opinions and positions and rarely engage in any efforts to change or convert those with whom I disagree. I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t make a good politician. While I love the intensity and wordplay of debate, I can easily argue the other side of the issue in most cases.
As a result, this blog just isn’t about politics very often. I may offer a point of view from time to time, but it isn’t one of the places the readers turn for political opinions. So today’s post may be a bit out of character. Before beginning, let me assure you that I am open to disagreeing opinions and those who might disagree. I’m not out to convert you to my way of thinking.
Then, on the other hand, I’m not sure that you have been following politics in Myanmar. The country is also known as Burma. Just in case it has fallen below your radar, the country will vote Sunday in what should be a landmark election. The country has been run by a military junta. The Junta has eased control a bit and is allowing an election. It is a tiny country, and reliable polling is hard to find, but on the one side in the election, is candidate Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate. Her National League for Democracy party has a platform of establishing a democracy for the country.
On the other side of the election are the leaders of Ma Ba Tha, which means “Association for the Protection of Race and Religion,” have thrown their support to President Thein Sein, a former general who is backed by the ruling military junta. Among their proposed actions would be enacting laws that would restrict religious freedom. Some have also proposed laws enforcing racial purity.
It is about as clear a case of democracy vs dictatorship that we have witnessed in a generation in the world.
A little bit more background might be in order. Myanmar/Burma is a predominantly Buddhist nation. From a sociological standpoint, the country will have a vast majority of Buddhists for a long time. Alongside, there is a very tiny minority of people who are Muslim. The leaders of Ma Ba Tha, however, have been promoting a narrative that the Muslims pose an existential threat to the Buddhists - that it is their aim to eliminate Buddhists and make the country Muslim. There is no evidence that this is occurring, or that there are any proponents of such a vision. It exists not in the rhetoric or thoughts of the Muslims, only among the far right of the Buddhist extremists. Still, they are using the threat as a reason for the country to stay away from democracy and embrace the military dictatorship.
There was a hugs soccer stadium event recently that attracted more than 10,000 Buddhist monks and nuns who rallied and cheered and chanted nationalist slogans. We don’t often think of militant Buddhist monks and nuns. It must have been quite a sight. These ultra-nationalist Buddhists have certainly been gaining a lot of attention and it is clear that they have influenced many voters.
It illustrates how fear of people who are different can cause dramatic results in the political landscape. It is obvious to an outside observers that the tiny Muslim minority poses no threat to Buddhists in Myanmar/Burma. In a democracy, majorities rule. But the fear that there is out there a stranger who might pose a threat has been used to convict a large number of people to actually vote against democracy. Which side will win remains unclear at this point, but democracy literally hangs in the balance. Those promoting dictatorship are using the illusion of a threat to religious and ethnic purity as their rallying cry. And that cry is incredibly loud.
Unfortunately, we know from history that such religious extremism virtually always results in violence. Dictatorships lead to suppressions of freedom for all, not just the minority which is labeled as hated. Genocide arises from an attempt to create some kind of imagined purity in the population.
I sincerely hope that the voters in Myanmar/Burma choose democracy. Mind you, I’m not anti-Buddhist. I am not attracted by Islam as a religion. If I lived in the country I would also belong to a very small minority. About 4% of the country is Christian, about the same size as the Muslim population. Christians are sharply divided between Baptist and Catholic. Neither of those brands is the particular corner of Christianity where I am most comfortable, so I have no idea how I might choose to identify in such a place. At any rate, my group would be a very small minority in the face of a country that is 90% Theravada Buddhist with another 1% professing other forms of Buddhism. If you are adding all of these percentages up, the remaining 1% is Hindu, roughly the same size as the Roman Catholic population. It is clear I wouldn’t be a member of any majority from the perspective of religion if I lived there. And if I lived there, I would be very nervous about this election.
If you talk about religious purity, Christians are as foreign to the Buddhists as are Muslims. Any form of cleansing will put pressure on all minorities. That is one of the wonderful paradoxes of democracy. The rule of the majority protects the rights of the minority in a democracy.
As far as I know, I have no readers of my blog in Myanmar/Burma. My words won’t be affecting their election. Still, I pray that democracy will get a chance in the tiny nation. I pray that they won’t try to demonize Muslims. I pray that there won’t be further religious repression.
Then again, I’m no expert on politics. I’m just a student of history who has seen the effects of military dictatorships on the lives of citizens. And I happen to live in a country where some of the candidates are spouting narrow views of religion that make them sound like adherents of Ma Ba Tha. It is never a good thing when people allow fear to entice them into voting against democracy.
As a result, this blog just isn’t about politics very often. I may offer a point of view from time to time, but it isn’t one of the places the readers turn for political opinions. So today’s post may be a bit out of character. Before beginning, let me assure you that I am open to disagreeing opinions and those who might disagree. I’m not out to convert you to my way of thinking.
Then, on the other hand, I’m not sure that you have been following politics in Myanmar. The country is also known as Burma. Just in case it has fallen below your radar, the country will vote Sunday in what should be a landmark election. The country has been run by a military junta. The Junta has eased control a bit and is allowing an election. It is a tiny country, and reliable polling is hard to find, but on the one side in the election, is candidate Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate. Her National League for Democracy party has a platform of establishing a democracy for the country.
On the other side of the election are the leaders of Ma Ba Tha, which means “Association for the Protection of Race and Religion,” have thrown their support to President Thein Sein, a former general who is backed by the ruling military junta. Among their proposed actions would be enacting laws that would restrict religious freedom. Some have also proposed laws enforcing racial purity.
It is about as clear a case of democracy vs dictatorship that we have witnessed in a generation in the world.
A little bit more background might be in order. Myanmar/Burma is a predominantly Buddhist nation. From a sociological standpoint, the country will have a vast majority of Buddhists for a long time. Alongside, there is a very tiny minority of people who are Muslim. The leaders of Ma Ba Tha, however, have been promoting a narrative that the Muslims pose an existential threat to the Buddhists - that it is their aim to eliminate Buddhists and make the country Muslim. There is no evidence that this is occurring, or that there are any proponents of such a vision. It exists not in the rhetoric or thoughts of the Muslims, only among the far right of the Buddhist extremists. Still, they are using the threat as a reason for the country to stay away from democracy and embrace the military dictatorship.
There was a hugs soccer stadium event recently that attracted more than 10,000 Buddhist monks and nuns who rallied and cheered and chanted nationalist slogans. We don’t often think of militant Buddhist monks and nuns. It must have been quite a sight. These ultra-nationalist Buddhists have certainly been gaining a lot of attention and it is clear that they have influenced many voters.
It illustrates how fear of people who are different can cause dramatic results in the political landscape. It is obvious to an outside observers that the tiny Muslim minority poses no threat to Buddhists in Myanmar/Burma. In a democracy, majorities rule. But the fear that there is out there a stranger who might pose a threat has been used to convict a large number of people to actually vote against democracy. Which side will win remains unclear at this point, but democracy literally hangs in the balance. Those promoting dictatorship are using the illusion of a threat to religious and ethnic purity as their rallying cry. And that cry is incredibly loud.
Unfortunately, we know from history that such religious extremism virtually always results in violence. Dictatorships lead to suppressions of freedom for all, not just the minority which is labeled as hated. Genocide arises from an attempt to create some kind of imagined purity in the population.
I sincerely hope that the voters in Myanmar/Burma choose democracy. Mind you, I’m not anti-Buddhist. I am not attracted by Islam as a religion. If I lived in the country I would also belong to a very small minority. About 4% of the country is Christian, about the same size as the Muslim population. Christians are sharply divided between Baptist and Catholic. Neither of those brands is the particular corner of Christianity where I am most comfortable, so I have no idea how I might choose to identify in such a place. At any rate, my group would be a very small minority in the face of a country that is 90% Theravada Buddhist with another 1% professing other forms of Buddhism. If you are adding all of these percentages up, the remaining 1% is Hindu, roughly the same size as the Roman Catholic population. It is clear I wouldn’t be a member of any majority from the perspective of religion if I lived there. And if I lived there, I would be very nervous about this election.
If you talk about religious purity, Christians are as foreign to the Buddhists as are Muslims. Any form of cleansing will put pressure on all minorities. That is one of the wonderful paradoxes of democracy. The rule of the majority protects the rights of the minority in a democracy.
As far as I know, I have no readers of my blog in Myanmar/Burma. My words won’t be affecting their election. Still, I pray that democracy will get a chance in the tiny nation. I pray that they won’t try to demonize Muslims. I pray that there won’t be further religious repression.
Then again, I’m no expert on politics. I’m just a student of history who has seen the effects of military dictatorships on the lives of citizens. And I happen to live in a country where some of the candidates are spouting narrow views of religion that make them sound like adherents of Ma Ba Tha. It is never a good thing when people allow fear to entice them into voting against democracy.