"But the hearts of men are easily corrupted." - J.R.R Tolkien
J.R.R Tolkien, the author of the "Lord of The Rings" trilogy claimed that it is the darkness that dwells in the hearts of men that provokes injustice and corruption. Throughout history we have seen the rise of dictators and oppressive rulers who all sought to possess power and control. Many leaders lost sight of things and once they found that burning desire raging in their hearts they did whatever they could to accomplish it and sometimes that was what awoke the darkness and evil within them. Due to this many citizens have had injustice inflicted on them and have been deprived from their rights and their voice. In the past this has caused the fall of societies both mentally and physically. People lost their hope and their pride whereas in many cases there has been war between the Government and citizens which has led to catastrophe. Additionally, in our world today there are still leaders who oppress and subjugate their citizens such as in North Korea and Libya. So, due to the fact that a leader is the one who speaks for his/her's people I believe that "democracy" is worth fighting for, so citizens can elect their own ruler who will not go against their will and who will compose a just and peaceful society.
Although many leaders did wrong for their own personal benefit or for some other reason some leaders misused their power and committed atrocities because they believed it was the right thing to do such as "Mahmud of Ghazni". Mahmud was a devout muslim and despised "idol worship." Therefore, he and his succoring and relentless army demonstrated their hatred for "idol worship" by performing many raids on Hindu land as well as stripping sacred temples from their riches. Mahmud just couldn't get enough and so he portrayed his hatred even further by ordering the deconstruction of the holy statue of "Lord Shiva." And he savored doing it. Although, Mahmud was a brute and a selfish man he still manged to transform the city of Ghazni into a beautiful and brilliant place. However,he did not do it for the welfare of citizens but for his own pride and when he was required to succor his people he used limited money. So due to Mahmud's greed and the violence he displayed on sacred ground the Ghaznavid Empire was despised by many. Also, because of his greed and his minimum expenditure of wealth for his own people - after he died the Ghaznavid Empire began to decline and fall apart. This demonstrates that because the citizens of Ghazni were not capable of electing a ruler in which they could ensure their trust they ended up nowhere.
There are many different listed events that show us the cruelty of oppressive rulers. However, the memory and legacy of those leaders that have done good and committed virtues lives on. In 712 a 17 year old named Muhammad bin Qasim led the raid of "Sindh",India (Now a part of Pakistan) and conquered all of Sindh and acquired power and control over it by 713. However, Bin Qasim showed great compassion and love for the citizens who were dominantly "Hindu" and at that time most Muslim raids on Hindu land would lead to bloodshed and catastrophe. Yet, Bin Qasim demonstrated his kindness to the people by banning the killing of cows and allowing anyone to worship as they please. As a result many people showed great respect towards Bin Qasim and some even became Muslims out of their own free will. This exemplifies that a society led by a compassionate and caring ruler that citizens approve of will prosper and excel.
Democracy is an immense element that helps form a just society. A society in which there is limited freedom or equality and where there is an oppressive leader is no just society. A leader is the voice of a society. It is what shapes the society and impacts the society greatly. A good leader has ambition which drives the society to excel. However, more importantly a good leader listens and acts according to the wishes of his/her's people. Therefore, a society in which there is democracy, in which citizens approve of their leaders and are joyous is a huge step towards making a perfectly just society. And therefore democracy is something worth fighting for.
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."
-Abraham Lincoln
