Should Promoting Democracy Abroad Be a Top U.S. Priority?

I agree with both Siegle and Wittes. Siegle makes a good point in that democracies tend not to fight one another and are friendly, politically and economically. Also, if the ultimate goal of the government is to provide safety for citizens and high standards of living, it is in the best interest for countries to be democratic. In the most democratized countries, they promote their government by providing every aspect of their institutions(freedom, civil workers, etc.). An example in the packet was that in one country, they got more free press, and it cut down the amount of graft (corrupt policemen) because it was exposed publicly. Siegle argues that democratized countries have developed faster than those that are not, and there are facts to prove it as in the last sentence. However, in some instances the US has not insisted on democracy and it is a good thing. Because of the politics of oil, we have not forced democracy on the Arab countries. The Western economies would be severely damaged because they might cut off our oil. Hardly anybody would be able to drive because of the explosive gas prices. Even though it is proven that countries with high levels of democracy in all aspects have higher growth rates, many countries that aren't democratic want to stay the way they are. Otherwise, we will have to pay the consequences. That is why we must pick our fights wisely on which countries to press our democratic ways on.