I have been trying to pay attention to the protests and human rights issues in Egypt. I have been there and have several friends from Egypt who have family there plus what happens there will affect the Middle East and our world a great deal.
I am not a politician or a strategist for world affairs, but it seems like the US government is a very precarious situation: the US government (Republicans and Democrats) have supported a “President” who has ruled for 30 years without a Vice President and some would say without genuine democracy. We have supported an Egyptian government which has been considered oppressive by the Egyptian people.
We have seemingly offered this support since we knew what we were getting, he seemed to be an ally for us, and his government offered stability.
We may lose Egypt as an ally if/when the government changes hands. At the same time, we are now calling for democracy, but what did we do to help it get there? What, if anything, could we have done?
In life, do we support the status quo because we know what we will get? Or are we willing to choose to risk knowing it could hurt us or possibly lead to the greatest freedom we could ever imagine?
Sometimes we get too close to those we shouldn’t.
Really great post Eric. I think I read the US had been given over a billion in military aid to Egypt. I think we all take risks and even make mistakes in who we partner with – but your posts reminds me to act on what i’m going to do about it.
Status quo is letting things be just because we’ve already went this far, or we’ve already invested in it. But leaders especially need to do the hard work of turning on our own decisions sometimes.