Spin Cycle

[bcholmes]

Talk up hope for Haiti and most people think you are naïve. The country has none of the cultural norms that conventional wisdom says are required to construct democratic institutions. Plus, it's flat broke.

All true. Yet things didn't have to get this bad. They did because when Haitians had a shot at democracy in 1990, they instead got a despot named Jean Bertrand Aristide.

— The Wall Street Journal

Reiterate the key points. Haiti can't be a democracy. Aristide was a despot. Haiti is economically ruined, but it was their own fault. Don't expect anything from aid, but don't question how we're applying aid, either. Repeat.

The question I wonder is what the recent batch of commentary on Haiti is preparing for.