Hegel, to his credit, noted that an idea or precept may prove salutary in one society but oppressive in another. The idea of democracy may have proved benign in America or Europe (a questionable claim), but has turned out malign in Bangladesh and India. In the former, the people as a whole are persecuted, and in the latter the system oppresses the Muslim minority. Notions from one society must not be heedlessly transplanted to another. [6]
President Jacob Zuma of South Africa gave this definition of democracy and rights: "You have more rights because you're a majority; you have less rights because you're a minority. That's how democracy works." His fellow-traveler, Recep Tayip Erdogan, has his own translation: "Democracy is like a train; you get off once you've reached your destination."
One is tempted to chuckle, but that would be wrong: mistranslation between languages is inevitable, not an example of the native intellect making a monkey of itself before the intelligent speakers of the language.
When a Palestinian uses the word 'democracy', he means oppression. When a white, middle-class American uses the same word well, he or she feels the reverse. When a Rohingya refugee fleeing from newly-democratic Burma hears the world, it is safe to assume that no pleasant associations come to mind. When a Hindu uses the word 'beef', he definitely does not have the same sensations as a Muslim. And when a Frenchman says soixante-neuf, well, we have a fairly clear idea of what he is getting up - or down to.
And if all the foregoing is not enough to persuade, take the word 'family'. Obedience to parents, as opposed to independence, is a mark of authoritarianism. In this part of the word, we are yanked from the cradle or the lap into lifelong authoritarianism. 'Empty-nester' is a meaningless term. Until the parents die, the children remain together, subservient. Disagreement with elders constitutes a vice. For us, family evokes a sepia-tinted picture of grandparents, children, grandchildren in three rows the children standing behind, the grandparents sitting, the grandchildren kneeling. And what does it mean for the European? Husband, wife and children in one snapshot, and then years later, only the first two if that - and years older. Alone.
That's freedom.
[1] Aldous Huxley: Complete Essays, Volume II, 1926-1929, ed. Robert S. Baker and James Sexton, (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2000), pp. 58-62
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