Sometimes, letting Muslim Brotherhood Islamists win elections in the West may be the harshest lesson democracy can teach its own voters. Let people discover the true face of the ideology they voted for: the intolerance disguised as tolerance, the extremism dressed up as progress, and the backwardness sold as a brighter future. Look at the turmoil in France. Look at the political battles unfolding in Britain, or “Britainstan,” as some now call it. One day, those who voted for extremism may discover that the ballot they cast in the name of progress became a vote against their own freedoms. The tragedy of democracy is that people sometimes have to experience the consequences of their choices before they understand the value of what they had. Civilization is easy to take for granted until you realize what it takes to defend it.