Colonial England never really wanted to let go of its colonies. All the "white man's burden" stuff was simply an excuse to keep the empire together in order to exploit it.
what about the Yellow Submarine? Was that an excuse to keep Pepperland in the Empire? At least we had proof that the Blue Meanies had Bouncing Hands of Mass Destruction.
Quote: Bush and his supporters are not claiming, as did Kipling, that the Iraqis are not ready for democracy. Quite the contrary, Bush is the one pushing for free elections, constitutions, etc.
which may be the only positive thing to come out of this war. but i feel his stance would be stronger if not for the WMD stories and the Haliburton scandals.
Quote: It's his detractors on the left who have adopted Kipling's quaint notion of natives who can't be trusted with democracy.
that's not entirely true. I'm glad they're doing elections. but again, do the ends always justify the means? would democracy have worked here if Washington and Jefferson had been foisted on us by the British? The Iraqi government was set up by us, and sooner or later the Iraqi citizens will want a government that's beholden to them and not the U.S. But I guess, you hated the White Album too.
