Christianity is a key to democracy

Charles Krauthammer is right when he says that spreading democracy in the non-Western world is and will continue to be difficult (Jan. 8 editorial). I disagree with the reasons that he cites and the actions he recommends.

The reason that one-person-one-vote is difficult to spread worldwide is that it isn't a resultant. It is a by-product.

Democracy can't exist without the underpinning of Christianity because it is an offshoot of the belief that all people are equal because God gave them all the same human nature, and the same human rights and duties. This idea was foreign to the world before Christ's coming; and most of the world, particularly the Islamic world, has sealed itself off from such ideas today.

If Bush really wants worldwide democracy, then the way to get it is to open up non-Western countries to Christianity. Once Jesus' teachings can freely circulate in states like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the dictators are in deep doodoo and our president is home free. Democratic government will spring up on its own.

Denny Driscoll

Round Lake