Monday, January 31, 2005

Democracy in Iraq:
The WSJ posts exerpts (here for subscribers) from bloggers in Iraq, recounting observations and moods from yesterday's historic election.

This exerpt below was particularly interesting to me. It reminded me of our own freedom and how it is often taken for granted.

Several bloggers posted pictures of Iraqis proudly displaying their ink-stained fingers (the ink was used at polling places to prevent people from voting more than once). From I Should Have Stayed Home, written by two Americans in Iraq: "The permanent ink that so many people were afraid of is being worn as a mark of pride by every single person I have seen in the streets. They hold up their fingers to show that they voted." According to Iraq the Model, one of the more popular Iraqi blogs: "Everyone we saw was holding up his blue tipped finger with broad smiles on the faces while walking out of the [polling] center." And on Kurdo's World, "Kurdo" writes, "In Kurdistan and Iraq now, people check others' index fingers: 'Oh you have a normal finger?!! How come it is not blue?! You are not democratic at all.'"

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