On Sunday, I learned that President Aristide had fled (or was snatched from) Haiti, leaving the country to the rebels and the opposition.
I consider this sad news in so far as Haiti was, yet again, unable to enact change in a constitutional, democratic way. It's discouraging to see this country, on the steps of North America, suffering from continued economic and democratic malaise. I don't know enough about Aristide to assess whether a tyrant has fallen or a democratic martyr has been thrown out (he was Haiti's first ever democratically elected leader). Dru at the Dominion would argue that Aristide's government was sabotaged from the beginning. On the other hand, the fact that the United States and France both agreed that Aristide was an obstacle to peace carries some weight; how often do these two countries agree on such matters?
After looking around, I find Tilting at Windmills' assessment of the situation and his summary of the history of Haiti to be the most cogent; ringing the most true. And again I return discouraged; after all, if the human race were really making the progress we hope we're making out of our savage past, shouldn't more underdeveloped nations be pulling themselves up by their bootstraps into vibrant and prosperous democracies. Shouldn't Haiti's failure be a shocking exception to the rule?
The United States, Canada and Europe all worked hard back in 1994 installing the beginnings of a democracy in Haiti when they restored Aristide to power following a coup. Now he's been replaced by the same powerbrokers that kicked him out the first time, including members of the Ton-Ton Mascoutte.
We failed. We should have done better.
The Night of the Screaming CharleyHorse
I may have described this before, or you may have experienced it: suddenly waking up in the middle of the night with the certainty in the pit of your calf that any sudden movement, or any movement whatsoever, is going to send your leg into a whirl of blinding pain. Fortunately for me, Erin is beside me, so I'm able to wake her up using the emergency wake-up-now method ("Erin! Erin! Erin! Help!") and she's able to rub my calf as it cramps. It's better than having to deal with this affliction alone (where, more often than not, one leaps out of the bed and falls on the floor), but it's not enough to stop the screaming.
Today, not only am I dealing with the sense that my calf might cramp up at any moment, but Erin had difficulty sleeping because she dreamt that I'd gotten possessed by a cheese cloth (?). And a co-worker has just stabbed herself in the finger with a pair of scissors.
Your horoscope for this day: stay in bed. Pull the covers up over your head.