I saw this picture this morning of a protester in Egypt and a couple of thoughts came to mind. First of all, with this post lets not be petty in pointing out the misspelling/correction of hypocrisy.I think this protester has a very valid point. We have become synonymous with hypocrites as a nation. Why? Because we have elected political officials and allowed people to represent us who behave hypocritically throughout the world. I don't want this to turn into an Obama-bash because the hypocrisy goes further than just his tenure in office. We're supposed to be a beacon of democracy and freedom to the world, and we have allowed Washington to do whatever it wants as long as us at home can continue watching American idol and spend money at the mall.
From our handling of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and interacting with them as long as it was politically expedient because we were sticking it to the Soviets - to then abandoning them once the Russians pulled out - in turn creating a vacuum of power thus allowing the Taliban to take charge. To this latest turn of events in Egypt where Washington is not condoning the protest in Egypt to oust a leader who is not behaving democratically and that the people want out. Granted there is a lot going on in the protest that is de-legitimizing it such as looting museums and destroying mummies....but the point of the protest is valid in that the people have had enough of their president staying in office for 30 years. We as a nation should be supporting democracy and freedom throughout the world not whether or not it's politically expedient but because it's right.
Case in Point - Hillary just released this statement - "We're not advocating any specific outcome."
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/141095-clinton-on-egypt-were-not-advocating-any-specific-outcome
If we want to be taken seriously as a "beacon of democracy and freedom to the world", then we probably ought to have stopped supporting autocratic dictators like Mubarak and Ben Ali long ago. The Administration's "careful" statements, including that one by Hillary, are probably masking something a bit more sinister. One blogger asks "Is the Egyptian Government using Agents Provacatuers", and there's other intrigue being reported by the NY Times.
ReplyDeleteThe greatest advance in freedom and democracy for Americans would be to extricate ourselves from foreign entanglements and stop trying to act as the world's policeman.
amen.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if American's are hypocrites, or if our leaders are, therefore everyone assume that they speak for and act like their people?
ReplyDeleteI think most people in the world realize that our leaders, much like their own, are not representative of the ordinary people.
ReplyDeleteHere's a different perspective on the causes of the unrest in Egypt, Tunisia and several other hot spots.