Winter of Discontent
What a week. The seeds of discontent are sprouting in Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, and even Syria. Whether those seeds take root in democracy is still very much an open question but let's accentuate the positive; in some of these places just the possibility that democracy gets a passing consideration, let alone a full blown hearing, is progress. We should not underestimate the positive power of enhanced communicative connectedness. Previously denied populations are using the internet and related technologies to wrest the controls of press, speech, and assembly. This is why I am hopeful most of these events will turn out for the better, because enhanced freedoms are not compatible with Sharia law and other despotic political systems.
On the down side, it is not a foregone conclusion that all of these activities are necessarily "the setting of brushfires of freedom in the minds of men". At play hear is how, and with what, the potential power vacuums will be filled. Some of those laying in wait are not exactly the sort to which Samuel Adams referred with his brushfires remark.
Other than being caught what appears to be completely off guard, my criticism for the Obama administration is guarded. ( I would advise the intelligence agencies on the other hand, to prepare to have their asses handed to them) The situation, particularly in Egypt, is so fluid that fairness dictates the benefit of the doubt. I can only hope clandestine efforts at managing these events to positive conclusions are proceeding as furiously as whats not going on out in the open.
That said, the die was cast when we saw democratic rallies in Iran a couple summers ago, also met with a tepid response from the White House - - and we can see how well THAT worked out, a pattern, to be sure, that doesn't exactly instill a lot of confidence.
In terms of foreign policy, it is more than a little weird that as we acknowledge the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan's birthday we see the rhetorical opposite of "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! Events, and the administrations response, could not have been more perfectly combined to illustrate such a devastating contrast. The mainstream medias typical idolatry was manifestly destroyed by images of unawares, ineptitude, indecision.
I often complain that today's politics, especially domestically, has gotten way too focused on style at the expense of substance. (exhibit A; 1600 Pennsylvania Ave) That's not always the case in world affairs where perception, through carefully orchestrated rhetoric, is reality.
I get and appreciate that chest thumping is not Obama's style, nor would I ask him to do so. I have accepted that he has, shall we say, a somewhat underwhelming appreciation of American exceptionalism. All well and good but still, he is the leader of the free world, and that role necessitates that he is also the world's biggest cheerleader for freedom and democracy. It comes with the territory and yet, for some reason, carrying that torch seems too much of a burden. Has no one informed him that recalcitrance can and will be misunderstood, and/or deliberately misconstrued, as weakness?
Yes, statements of any sort will be used against us regardless. All the more reason to choose the words precisely. We are, after all, constantly reminded of his majesty's superior eloquence. A fat lot of good it's doing us now. Standing mute, center stage of the world, can be as bad as saying the wrong thing. It's especially inexcusable when you manage the theater.
Failing to state our resolve and dedication to freedom, especially when events provides such a ripe opportunity to do so, casts doubt on our appreciation of those principles. Man up Mr President. You missed your cue.
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