Age Of Rebellion

There is unrest all around the world today. There are few countries who aren't experiencing some kind of strife at the moment. The Middle East is poised for a perfect storm of reform, good or bad we can't tell yet but reform will be coming. In a decade the Middle East we are now familiar with will be very different.

In Asia North Korea rattles it's saber for attention, for money, for nuclear concessions, threatening the entire region with China's blessing. China is on a different time table lasting centuries and positioning itself for eventual global domination.

In Europe there are multiple problems as cultures clash and most states face insolvency. In Mexico there is a literal drug war as warlords face off against pretty much everyone. Don't think it's serious? How about serious to the tune of 35,000 killed in four short years...as a contrast there are nearly sixty thousand American names on the Vietnam wall.

That leads me to Egypt and what is happening. I've never seen this level of sustained rebellion against a government in my lifetime. Tiananmen Square was as close as I can remember, though it was very short lived it was very intense. I don't count the fall of communism in this as it was an entire system that failed and not the same kind of protests that are grass roots movements as we are experiencing in
Egypt.

What is happening in Egypt, and I could be completely wrong here, is a genuine movement over the conditions of their living and day to day experiences. Grinding poverty, deplorable living conditions, no hope for a better life are behind what is happening. Anger against Hosni Mubarak and his thirty year reign of corruption has boiled over and by proxy anger against us for supporting him. He was a strong ally in the war on terror, helping us stamp out terrorists in the region. "He was a dictator but he was our dictator", is the common refrain you'll hear from the talking heads on TV.

That's no excuse for oppressing the population as he has done. Honestly I have never been to Egypt I just have accounts of eye witnesses to read and form an opinion. I wouldn't like living under Mubarak's regime I know that for sure. The fear is that the radical organization The Muslim Brotherhood will take control somehow and we'll have another Iran on our hands as well as a military power that could easily take control of Saudi, Israel, and pretty much any country they set their sights on.

That would take a lot of doing on behalf of The Muslim Brotherhood for all of that to happen but it's the worst case that could happen. Best case is the people elect a pro-west government and we have strong relations as they grow to world prominence.

The logical question is could Cairo happen here? Could a couple of hundred thousand citizens surround the White House and demand all elected officials resign and go home. If so what side would the police fall and what side would the military take?

Well we have our own form of rebellion against any elected official and it happens every two years (House), four years (President), and six years (Senate). We have a voice in how things are run, Egypt hasn't had a voice since Anwar Sadat was killed. We have a natural pop off valve that blows off steam on a regular basis, Egypt does not. Imagine three decades of Obama rule, I'd want to riot if he is elected to a second term let alone thirty years!

The liberals felt the wrath of the American public and they lost control of the House because of all of the shenanigans they pulled against the will of the public. If we hadn't had elections for decades and they continued on the same path it's hard to tell what would have happened. One thing is for certain, Americans aren't prone to rock throwing as Egyptians are. We are a well armed public and it would likely get violent much faster.

Riot police would face a formidable public if they chose the wrong side. The military would be a different story though. I wouldn't even want to think about what would happen if they chose an American dictator over it's public.

It is unlikely we'd ever see the same level of frustration without remedy as Egypt has, our system is set up to prevent long term rulers. Yes we do need national term limits to keep our representatives and senators out of office for decades. Serve and go home.

Right now, my heart is with the people in the streets of Cairo. I don't know how this will play out, no one does. Pray for the best.