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No Free and Democratic Political System Without Labor By Msgr. George G. Higgins The Yardstick December 4, 2000  One hopes that the messy confusion in Florida about the counting of votes in the presidential election will prove to be good for our humility as a nation. I hope and pray, of course, that by the time this column appears in print the dispute in Florida will have been resolved. Meanwhile, the late night TV comedy shows milk the fracas for all it is worth. For them, it is manna from heaven, and one gets the impression that they hope it will last forever.  More seriously, however, the unseemly dispute in Florida is being met with howls of laughter -- and in some cases, sneers and jeers -- in the international community. We can hope, then, it will be a long time before the United States has the chutzpah to send yet another delegation overseas to monitor the elections of other countries.  Mindful of the Scriptural admonition, "Physician heal thyself," we would be well advised to reform our own electoral system before we presume to offer unsolicited advice to other countries. Humility is good for the soul -- of nations as well as of individuals.  In recent days when I could discipline myself long enough to turn off the round-the-clock TV coverage of the Florida mess, I have tried to catch up on the news about labor and related socio-economic issues. This is more difficult for me than it used to be. Having moved to a retirement home, I lack many of the resources which, for most of my life, have been readily available to me. In any event, I still read several newspapers everyday and continue to subscribe to the leading journals in my fields of interest.  One of the most informative publications I have received at my new location is "The Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights 2000," published by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions based in Brussels, Belgium. This exhaustive survey, which covers almost every country in the world, is also good for our humility as a nation. We are so used to boasting about the United States as the world's leading bastion of freedom that we tend to assume that our record as a nation in defending the freedom of our citizens and their organizations is without blemish and infinitely superior to that of less-enlightened nations.  Not so, says the ICFTU survey. It is true that there are horrendous violations of trade-union freedom in many of the nations covered in the survey. It is also true, however, that the U.S. record as documented in the survey leaves much to be desired.  The five-page section of the survey dealing with the United States says in summary: "The rights to organize a strike are not adequately protected in the United States labor legislation. The law is unable to protect workers when the employer is determined to destroy or prevent union representation."  That summary statement is fleshed out in damaging detail under a dozen different headings pointing out the numerous ways the right to organize is being thwarted. It is not a pretty story. But so what, you may ask. Who really cares about trade union rights in our booming economy? Well, workers, of course, deeply care, especially those who have been left behind in the so-called new economy.  But all Americans should care, for as the history of the violent and bloody 20th century clearly shows, we are not likely over the long haul to have a free and democratic political society without a free and democratic labor movement.   Papal Social Encyclicals   Other Catholic Social Teachings General Articles of Interest  Catholic Worker Connection Msgr. George Higgins  Home Page E-Mail: Fr. Sinclair Oubre