Cairo. Example of Embryonic Democracy

Egyptian Standoff (HuffPost photo)

Mubarak is reacting with admirable restraint for someone so desperate to hold on to power. He sacked his entire government rather than own up to the discontentment that has been building in Egypt. Americans watch the events there with great interest and a great deal of inner conflict. After all, it is always desirable to see a democratic movement succeed but the region in which this revolution is taking place is unstable. Nevertheless, Egypt has stood out as one of the most stable countries in this often volatile part of the world. Therefore, while we would hope that the Egyptian desire for a self-selected government is realized, we can not say with confidence that whatever might replace the current regime would improve the stability in the region nor that such a change would be in the interest of the United States.

What seems to be a sobering fact is that the democracy many Egyptians seek is so often taken for granted in the United States. In the 2010 midterm elections, just over 40% of eligible voters participated. Such an abysmally low turnout is tragic when you observe the pains that the people of Egypt must go through for the same opportunity.

Still, we must face the hypocrisy of people who now express hope that democracy will flourish in Egypt but who cynically supported candidates like Sharon Angle, who claimed that only election results which turn out favorably to one’s position should be respected and that barring that, “second amendment remedies” should be sought in order to ensure that one gets one’s way. This means, as I’m sure you’ve heard ad nauseam, that you should try to use the electoral process first and if that doesn’t work, start shooting people.

In any case, we can only stand back and see how this situation turns out. At the same time, we can reflect on how fortunate we are to have had our ancestors fight this battle for us. So the next time you hear someone mouthing off about how angry they are because the people they elected kowtowed to big business and special interests and let them ruin the national economy, remind them that the fix is easy for us because the hard part has been done already. All they have to do is vote for people who respect democracy whether they win or lose. Since leaders who value duty and honor above their own self interest tend to make decisions that don’t lead to international financial meltdowns, the rest will pretty much take care of itself. Don’t you think?