Stop taking a condescending attitude to US voters
First of all I would like to congratulate George Bush as the duly elected president of Bangladesh and address Mr Sobhan's article. There was a free and open debate and Mr. Bush was chosen as the better candidate. Maybe Mr Kerry wasn't able to clarify his vision or maybe he didn't have the courage to speak his convictions, but either way Mr. Bush won fair and square. I think Americans are a people of faith and more power to them. Every Empire which was worth anything has had a moral compass, starting with the Muslims' own beloved Ottoman Empire which is brought time and again up as an example of a prototypical Empire. But Americans do use their religion for deeds, rather than limiting themselves to words. The Americans, as far as I have seen try to improve the community around them with charitable works, food shelters and so forth. I don't see any reason to take a condescending attitude to religious voters in the states, who do more or less read about the issues and try to come to an informed decision, even if you don't agree with them on the issues such as abortion, gun control and security. In this case Mr. Kerry was just not the man for them. To label them as 'blind'; goes to show only the arrogance of the so-called 'educated elites'. I disagree with some readers who would like to misconstrue voting for your moral or religious convictions with fundamentalism. We wouldn't be humans if we didn't.
Lastly, I don't think Mr. Kerry would have been in Bangladesh's interests anyway. Maybe we should take a hard look around our surroundings in Bangladesh and come to the conclusion that our own leaders have failed us, due to their own faults, despite thirty years of independence. We have to take our own responsibility as an Independent Nation. What good have we done by denigrating the moral and social convictions of our own more or less pious people? We should remember religion, or faith is here to stay as a force for good or for bad in the world, maybe we should use it for good and in a socially conscious constructive way in Bangladesh's context. If the civil society wants it will happen, as it has in America.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.