It would be encouraging to see us all reject the partisan mindset and simply acknowledge that what’s taking place today in Iraq is an enormously good and hopeful thing, and that it wouldn’t be happening without the bravery and selfless service of countless Iraqi patriots, no matter what external force or persuasion anyone else brought to bear to influence the circumstances or frame the opportunity. The will to self-determination is a remarkable thing, but too often taken for granted by those who—for whatever reason—become disconnected from such self-evident aspects of the human spirit. Let’s acknowledge today that, while we’ll surely debate the political factors for a generation, the product is something that a huge majority of Iraqis fundamentally understand and deserve at last (as have the citizens of India, South Korea, Eastern Europe, South Africa, Afghanistan, or Ukraine). Dear reader, did your birth come with relative ease and lack of trauma, or did you happen to inflict excruciating pain and drawn-out suffering upon your mother? In any case, you were born, but the meaning of your life will not ultimately be measured by the characteristics or deficiencies of natal phenomena, but how you manifest the potential of existence. So it is with a people. Behold the miracle of the ordinary Iraqi voter, laughing in the face of peril to cast her very first ballot.