Democracy FROM America?

While I have been snowed under by a three-prep semester and three weekends in a row out-of-town,  I have been thinking about democracy.  Who can avoid it as North African people and Wisconsin residents have been daily seeking it and engaging in it.  Certainly I can not since I have also been reading Democracy in America, and "Bowling Alone," and some Bellah, and some Jeff Stout with AmCon students.  So, even if I have not been keeping up with my blog, I have at least been thinking about and talking about democracy, freedom, and other precious concepts.

One topic to which our class conversation often returns: what role should Americans in the early 21st century take in "exporting" democracy?  Are we really good enough at this to be able to teach anyone anything?  Is it really our place to even suggest that democracy is the right system for others?

While we have been reading and thinking and talking about the idea of democracy, Beth Linn -- Ole and Peace Corps Volunteer -- has been daily engaged in the work of democracy and building social capital.  This posting from her blog offers a realistic and hopeful account of how one American is offering her fierce commitment to democratic citizenship in a far away place.