Liberty, Democracy, and Security

There are strong correlations between liberty and democracy since the rise of the United States of America shortly after the Revolutionary war.  In an article by Russel Bova called "Democracy and Liberty: Cultural Connection" various relationships are pointed out but one struck me more than the others.  He pointed out that culture and the institution are key indicators of how well democracy and therefore liberty will work and be successful.  Most of the countries that are successful in democracy and oftentimes liberty are Western or have a high Western influence.  These countries have strong ties to national security and have expanded to international security through the past century.  Although the concept of democracy and human rights have been introduced into Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa, some of the countries have not had success in this endeavor.  The question is why?  In several Eastern European and Latin American countries, the poor human rights were changed quickly and they have been able to have continuous success in the push toward liberty.  Africa is a different case; many of these countries have been unable to break away from traditional institutions and have struggled with human rights laws along with security of their people.  It is my personal opinion that quality of life can be changed if given enough time and enough support.  It is pointed out within Bova's article that both Hong Kong and Singapore were influenced by the United Kingdom and yet Hong Kong has a better economy and significantly better human rights laws.  Singapore has struggled and the main reason is the influence of economic strength from the UK to Hong Kong (who was a much more dependent nation at the time) and the lack thereof in Singapore (a much more independent country).  The amount of influence and the amount of time given to change is key and I believe that this is a value often forgotten in foreign policy.  The United States is a democracy and although liberties have been given up for security at times in history, the country is safe.  We have the freedoms that other nations have sacrificed their lives for and still have not secured.  Total security and total liberty are not both possible within a democracy.  There is a fragile line between the two and depending on events, some security must be given up to secure rights and liberties and vice versa.  This is important to remember about history.  Let us not repeat the same mistakes that led to terrible struggles and even wars.