A modern parable

(Roughly based on Matthew 22:1-14.)

A certain President prepared a free election for the people of Iraq, and he sent out word to some of those who serve in Congress to bear witness to the event. "It's illegitimate," they said, and they refused to come.

So he sent word to more of those in Congress and in the mainstream news media. "Tell those who have been invited to bear witness to this event that the tyrant is overthrown, the people of Iraq are going to vote, and Democracy is at hand. Come and see the will of the people be done.

But they paid no attention and went off -- one to argue that abandoning the Iraqi people would be for the best, and another to remark that it was all about oil anyway.

So the President said to himself, "The members of Congress and the MSM will not bear witness to this historical event, but the Iraqi people understand how wonderful it is that they have free elections for the first time." And the Iraqi people, men and women alike, and even the lame and the crippled, traveled many miles and stood in line for hours, and cast their votes in numbers that put other Democracies to shame.

Then the President said, "These people understand the cost of freedom and the sacrifice that was done on their behalf to bring them Democracy. But as for these in Congress who call themselves "Democrats," they do not even understand the meaning of the word. They are blind with their hatred for the free and take for granted their own liberty. For although many enjoy the benefits of Democracy, few appreciate how rare such a thing is on the earth.