Keep Calm and Carry On

As the unrest in Egypt, Libya, and other Middle Eastern countries settles into the minds of Americans, some wonder if the images on TV could come to neighborhoods near you.

Tunisia. Egypt. Algeria. Yemen. Close to a dozen countries during a dozen weeks. Peoples' revolutions are starting. Fortunately they have been (for the most part) peaceful protests in Oman, Syria, and other countries in the area. The news coming out of Libya is a totally different story. Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi threatens protesters with death to thousands, rivers of blood, and vows to silence the voice of the workers, parents, students, and siblings who want a country with economic, social, and political freedom. The sentiment among us in the States learning about these unbelievable events will always vary, but one topic that steadfastly arises in conversation asks if the events “over there” could ever happen “over here.”

Technology has dumped the Middle Eastern revolutions in front of everyone in the United States of America. Pictures of firestorms flood the internet, videos of injured protesters flash on cable news, and voices of drowning dictators gurgle on talk radio—but everything going on is “over there” to “those people.” The unrest is in countries we mispronounce, overthrowing people with names we misspell, and all on the other side of the world. The demonstrators go to church differently than us, treat their women differently than us, and always seem to be years behind with anything cool. The government regimes promise things like “rivers of blood” and write the laws backwards. We Westerners might have a difficult time comprehending a drastically surreal lifestyle and culture. More often than not, however, truth tends to be stranger than fiction.

 

Abigail Hauslohner reported a story to TIME about a nondescript 20-year old college student, his self-proclaimed “sarcastic blog,” a mother who thought he was “wasting his time,” and the events which led to the Egyptian Revolution. Khaled Kamel only used his blog to vent anxiety over work, relationships, and things he saw and thought were wrong. “It was never about politics” he said in the article, until images that show a fellow countryman's fatal injuries left by police on June 9^th, 2010 drove Khaled to push for real change. After months of growing concern over a violent death justified by the government, the revolution in nearby Tunisia confirmed the notion shared by Khaled and now thousands of other Egyptians; they had the ability to reclaim every aspect of their country from the political elite. The rest is known as 25 January.

Police brutality is only a single straw for the true revolutionaries. Poverty, inflation, political corruption, and God-given/government-withheld rights are only links in the enormous chain of events playing out on the evening news. Many people empathize with these people and their plight—only until our thoughts are suddenly overwhelmed with the assignment due in 24 hours, the idiot that cut you off in traffic, or the text message that just came in. As a result of the relatively fast-paced American lifestyle, most basic similarities between “us” and “them” have been buried under seventy years of convoluted global economics, political truths, and a quick message from the sponsors. For more insight on the entire messy process, a recommended read is the world-renowned book by Japanese author Teno Gomi entitled Minna Unchi.

The desire for a good and just quality of life—and the heart to fight for it—is not some new revolution or modern idea. It's a burning desire within most rational people that seems like it is burning bright in the Middle East. Towards the end of 2010, horror stories of corruption, genocide, greed, and other tales of woe crept into the everyday life of a critical number of people. After decades of tyrannical rule, dictators are now left to run for cover in the dark, hidden crevices where they relinquish power to this showing of 'We the People' and their first fighting chance for their desires.

That same desire once lit the way for a handful of true revolutionaries over 200 years ago—and because of it, We the People still control it here in the United States. The revolutionaries that have proven to prosper use this light to establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty; the frightening regimes that crumble across the water have proven to be nothing more than little men in high office simply casting big shadows.

-MDS