Commentary Democracy: Do it, Don’t Just See It (Impressions of a teenager on "The World March against the War in Iraq" By Luciano Umerez (April 19, 2004)

The demonstration, "The World March against the War in Iraq," happened on a sunny March 20^th, the one-year anniversary since the war in Iraq started. After the march, I interviewed some people in the local groups, "Seek Peace" and "Pursue It," who were demonstrating and shared with them the exercise of democracy through marching. I realized that in order to explain all I wanted to say I would need to focus on two different things, two different articles: one article about my impressions and the other about the march itself.

In order to understand what the World March meant I will have to understand the theme as an exercise of democracy; a global democracy of which the United States of America is the first promoter. But I will not speak about the democratic denotation (literal meaning) of the march; I will speak about the democratic connotation (symbolic meaning). 

All throughout the last centuries we searched for democracy as the way to search for a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Democracy doesn’t change as a concept. But who are these "people" we are speaking about? And how do we understand that connotation of democracy, not the denotation, changes? 

If we analyze the Greeks, the pioneers of democracy, we would say that they were a democracy; but, these pioneers weren’t so democratic in our current point of view because only rich men landowners could vote (so then the "people" were the aristocracy). As democracy developed the US was founded and 1776 is known as the beginning of first democracy of the world). But even the US wasn’t that democratic until 1920 when women got the right to vote (We had just come back from a war which was fought to "make the world safer for democracy.") and until 1965 when black people could start voting. So, the democratic connotation of democracy evolves inside it; democracy gets more democratic; and it is up to the social movements to evolve it.

Existing no absolutes and only liberations rather than liberty; and existing a today’s global democracy where everyone can vote. What is our liberation through democracy; or, what is the today’s evolution in the connotation of it? 

I remember a phrase "power is not voted, it is constructed" in the song "Poder Marchoso," a popular electronic tune in Argentine nightclubs. But, is the democracy that is being constructed democratic enough for our current time? I think so, but—it’s trembling. I believe its trembling because of the lack of belief in it, or because the "people" see the government as something too far away; something which doesn’t belong to them. 

When I went to the demonstration outside the Capitol I asked myself: "Why are there more people that came to see the Capitol of US democracy than people that came to do democracy outside the US Capitol?" When I had that image I wondered again. Is our democracy coming to be something that is being seen rather than being done? Well, I believe that the people still have the power, but we are in a stage between knowing that democracy is not just about voting every four years for a president alone in a voting both; and knowing that the war is not going to end because of a demonstration. Which compels us to find ourselves, in a stage of uncertainty of "how do we make democracy" and whether we do it or not. Here we are, in a stage where the faith in democracy is being lost and because of that, we don’t want to get really involved. And this lack of faith slows the evolution of the democratic connotation, and it makes it to tremble.

I interviewed one of the women who were standing in the demonstration. She was a member of N. Street Village, an NGO for the homeless, and I asked her: Why do you think the people don’t want to get involved in this demonstration? "They have their own world," she responded. Do you think individuality is interfering with working together to build a democratic democracy? "It has everything to do with individuality. It’s the American culture. They are thinking only in their world, and their finances and their problems which are enough for them."

But is it? Is this the American and World culture? I don’t think so, but this is one of the things that I, being just a teenager, can’t get of this world culture. This duality confuses me, everyone does care about the rest of the people, about the war in Iraq and all these things. But still, they don’t want to demonstrate these ideas to the government—to the rest of the people. Why? I believe that is not that Americans or the people of the world are too conceited and only care about their individuality. I think that they just don’t believe that democracy is a constant act of citizenship. It is about more than simply voting alone in a booth. So if someone goes to the Capitol just is to see it, not to demonstrate, then democracy is something that we see, not something that we do.

So what did this march mean? It meant that not only the government doesn’t fully represent the interests of the people (almost more than half of the population doesn’t want the war on Iraq); the great voice of the people through the demonstration didn’t either. Because, where were this 50 or 500 or 5000 people that are against the war in Iraq in the Washington area; and where were the other people who agree with the war? In their homes, doing their own things; but not because they don’t care or because they are bad citizens; is because this feeling of loss of the tool through which we exercise democracy (call it voting, marching or whatever).

I strongly believe that democracy is not an entity which "is", is a desire of justice and perfection that we make. And if we stop believing in democracy, though the name and the rights will still be there, the thing that makes it (the exercising of citizenship of the people) will begin to be lost; and therefore, though the denotation will still be there the connotation will slowly die at the hands of not believing.

Take this commentary as a reflection. To make people wonder where we are going.

Personally: I want to thank Ms. Hawkesworth for bringing me new meaning to the development of democracy on the US.

I would also want to thank everyone who reads Lasso Online and ask you to tell me what you think in order to learn how to write better in this language. Please pardon my poor vocabulary which brings confusion. I’ll improve if you help.

(1) Wilson, the President of the US during the entire participation of the WW1, phrase which he use as the cause of participating in the First World War.

(2) Re-taken from: "Poder Marchoso", a popular electronic song in nightclubs from Argentina.

(3) Answers of Janet Gouschalk. Member of N. Stret Village (NGO for homeless).

(4) Idea based on the popular song: "Caminante no hay camino" of Joan Manuel Serrat. The song speaks about not having an established way of doing and building new ones; about not having a path, making the path walking.

Luciano Umerez.