I find what is happening now in the Middle East Area absolutely fascinating. No, unlike many pundits and commentators, I do not expect anything truly grand to come of it besides replacing one totalitarian ruler with another. Nor do I expect some new grand threat to the US to arise from it besides an increase in oil prices. Which I think is a good thing since it will finally force us to start using new technologies or find a way to use old tech more efficiently. No I find the whole Middle East Uprising so darned interesting because it so clearly embodies one of humanities greatest character flaws.
To further expand on this, let me ask this question of my readers. What has changed in the Middle East to inspire so many ordinary people to rise up and protest, potentially over throwing regimes that have been in place for decades? The answer is, quite simply, nothing. Except for minor changes in the area that pretty much no one except a historian or global economist might have noticed, Libya, Bahrain and so many others are exactly the same now as 30 years ago. So why have so many people suddenly decided to rise up against their rulers and demand freedom?
Quite simply it is because one person/group did it first. Protesters, unhappy with their way of life in Egypt managed to force through relatively non-violent actions their ruler of 30 years to step down. Not to go all Biblical on you guys, but this was a "sign from above" to all of the other masses of people spread out across the Middle East that it was possible. So after decades of quietly living with their suffering and fear without so much as a peep, these groups of people followed the lead of Egypt and began demanding the freedoms and rights that they deserve.
People, as a whole, are too fearful and lazy to try and bring about change themselves. They want to wait until "someone" else does it for them. History is full of examples ranging from The Exodus where the Hebrew people suffered for generations while waiting for Moses to come along to WWII where most countries felt that "something should be done about Hitler" but most including America in the beginning felt that someone else should do it.
Revolution is almost always the work of one man or a small group of men. The Communist Revolution in Russia wouldn't have happened without Lenin leading the way. Our own American Revolution came about because a small group of individuals decided it was time. (At the time of the American Revolution most colonists were quite content with England's rule. They merely wanted the same rights as all of members of the Empire.)
So here we have a massive front of revolution sweeping across the Middle East where thousands of men and women are rushing into the streets demanding rights and freedoms that should have been theirs at birth. I am no expert on these situations so I have no real idea what is going to happen, but whatever does happen will be because one small group started it all.
Always remember, "We must always be willing to fight for our freedom or the freedoms we have will mean nothing."
Rambles and Rants about pretty much everything ranging from Bad Service to Political Correctness. Being offensive and making people go "Hmmm" for the better part of two decades.
I disagree in part. The major change, in this case, is the internet and increased access to communication. To wit Martin Luther and the Gutenberg presses and on down the line.
ReplyDeletePopular revolts, one in which the people rise up en masse as opposed to being led by a charismatic leader who is already in a position of power, is almost always done through mass communications efforts which the powers which be cannot control.
Widespread revolts are almost always linked to widespread communication efforts, even with charismatic leaders already in power. They use the lines of communication.
Mob mentality.
Hmm, I can see the distinction in your argument. Course when I was talking about "One person doing it first" in this case I was talking about how the group in Egypt started this massive avalanche. You are correct about the massive role the internet has played in this. before the widespread use of the Net, it was easy for a bad leader to hide what was going on. By the time news got out the old fashioned way, it was usually over.
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