The Price of Freedom

"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."

- Dolores Ibarruri (1895-1989), Spanish Communist Party leader

Imagine if you will what it would be like to be asked to become a city councilman, a county commissioner, a representative to your state legislature or even a member of your country's congressional body, and to know that in accepting such an honor, you would be signing your death warrant.

How many of us would have the courage to step forward? How many of us would be willing to stand up for our principles? How many of us would not be intimidated by those who would threaten us, our families and friends, and take a leadership role in our government? Given the option of either serving at the risk of my life, or opting out to assure my safety, I would probably opt out. Most of us would, I think.

Such a threat is what those who have agreed to serve in the political institutions in Iraq now face. This Washington Post article (brief registration required) by foreign service reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran talks about what it's like to be a council member in Baghdad:

"The weekly meeting of the Rashid district council began last Wednesday with a prayer for two of the group's 33 members. One was in critical condition at a U.S. military hospital after being shot seven times in an assassination attempt. Another was in hiding after gunmen attacked her house and killed her brother...Council members voted to close the meeting to the public because of fears that assassins would slip in and mark members for death. To enforce the decision, U.S. and Iraqi soldiers surrounded the council building and stationed snipers on the roof."

It's a story worth reading in its entirety and I hope you will. As you do, try to imagine how these people must feel as they face this challenge. Can you fathom their situation?

What would cause someone to put her life on the line in order to be a part of the new government? In addition to being the targets of assassins,many Iraqis are critical of them and view them as illegitimate because they were not elected. Most have had little time to prepare to govern and are unsure about their new responsibilities, and there still exists great conflict about whether their new system will be democratic, Islamic, or some combination of the two. I doubt the pay is very good either.

And yet they courageously come forward. Their fellow council members die and still they come forward. I fear greatly for them, for many will continue to die and it will take much resolve on their part to continue their work. But I believe they possess great determination and will eventually prevail. Why? Because they are hungry for freedom. They're weary of living in a country where saying the wrong thing, looking the wrong way, or committing some other minor offense could get them imprisoned, tortured or killed, so they're willing to risk their lives in order to change things.

Put yourself in their shoes if you're able. Would your hope of being free, of having a society where you had a voice in your destiny, and a future free of tyranny outweigh the obstacles you had to overcome in order to make that dream a reality? Pearl Buck once said, "None who have always been free can understand the terrible fascinating power of the hope of freedom to those who are not free." If Ms. Buck was correct, perhaps we can't empathize with these heroic people, but I believe we should try.

They are not foolish enough to believe their task is not daunting, but they are willing to begin the process, even at great peril to themselves. I wish them the best, and I hope all of you do too.

Update: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Jordanian-born militant, and his henchmen say they will assassinate Iyad Allawi, the new Iraqi Prime Minister. Allawi scoffs at them.