This morning I decided that I needed to learn more about what was going on in Egypt. It wasn't difficult as there were two articles on the front page of The New York Times today (here) and (here). It seems that Egypt is a nation of moderate people who want a true democracy instead of the dictatorship that the United States has supported for 30 years. President Mubarak has maintained the United States' support by claiming that the only alternative to his dictatorship is a group called the Muslim Brotherhood. The current demonstrations are not being conducted or supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, it is the youth of Egypt longing for freedom. The youth once again, with their knowledge and use of social networking, are creating a movement that hopefully will be sustained.
Unfortunately, the United States has not learned from its many past mistakes of choosing the stability of a friendly dictator over democracy. The first article cited above closes with this:
In a statement after Tuesday’s clashes, she urged restraint but described the Egyptian government as “stable” and “looking for ways to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people.”Our government should be supporting democracy not dictators. Stability is not the goal. President Obama called us a beacon of justice in the world. Clearly that is what we should be, but unfortunately, it is not what we are.
We have not learned. We must remind Secretary Clinton (here) and President Obama (here) that supporting dictators against the popular will of the people has been a disaster for the United States in the past and will be in the future if we do not learn from the past.
Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
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