Congratulations Chile!

Congratulations Chile! You've demonstrated to the world, peacefully, that democracy is a beautiful thing.

Keep in mind that Chile is 70% Catholic and their new president, Michelle Bachelet, is divorced and agnostic but her political message was still heard above all that. Even with machismo deeply entrenched in latin culture Chile elected a female as a president. It is sad but true that if in this country a divorced agnostic woman ran for president she would have never even been taken seriously as a viable candidate, her politics would have fallen on deaf ears. Even if a male candidate in America were any of those other things, let alone all of them together, he wouldn't make it. Sad, but true. I think that its pathetic that the United States trapses around the world "spreading democracy" when countless other nations are light years ahead of us in actually executing it in their own nations.

Indira Gandhi: Prime Minister of India 1966- 1977 and 1980-1984
Golda Meir: Prime Minister of Israel 1969-1974
Margaret Thatcher: Prime Minister of Great Britian 1979-1990 (Ronald Reagan's Brain but still a woman)
Vigdis Finnbogadottir: Prime Minister of Iceland 1980-1996
Benazir Bhutto: Prime Minister of Pakistan 1988-1990 and 1993-1996
Gro Harlem Brundtland: Prime Minister of Norway 1986-1989 and 1990-1996
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro: Presiden of Nicaragua 1990-1997
Mary Robinson: President of Ireland 1990-1997
Mary McAleese: President of Ireland 1997-Present
Helen Clark: Prime Minister of New Zealand 1999-Present
Michelle Bachelet: Prime Minister of Chile 2006-Present

I'm sure there are more but thats enough to make a point I think.

Thanks to Brad from Willing Warrior for reporting the elections. I really enjoyed his last two video blogs on the subject especially how the votes are counted in Chile.

In America
The land of the free they said,
and of opportunity,
in a just and truthful way.
But when the president
is never black, female, or gay,
and until that day,
you've got nothing to say to me
to help me believe.
-From "America is Not The World" by Morrissey on the album "You Are The Quarry"

I say this not out of hate for this country but out of a profound and deep love of it; because I am able to, because this is America and I don't want to lose it.