Perhaps a little too easy.
We cannot let our heartstrings pull us away from our own struggle. While the developments in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East will have lasting consequences for us all, there is really very little the average American can do about any of it. Worse, the more we turn our eyes to the revolutions in foreign nations the further we are from seeing the steady oppression under which we fall. Should tyranny take us fully in its grasp, we will not have the luxury of watching other nations rise and fall, but will be engaged in battles just as bloody as the night Egypt’s Tahrir Square became awash in blood.
The internet is proving to play a vital role in uprisings around the world. So much so that Egyptian President Mubarak ordered it shut down. That didn’t stop the protesters, but it elicited outrage from the rest of the world, including the United States President Obama.
"I also call upon the Egyptian government to reverse the actions that they've taken to interfere with access to the Internet, with cellphone service and to social networks that do so much to connect people in the 21st century.”
This sentiment was also expressed by the President’s Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs in a message on Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is pushing for the Net Neutrality Act and a so-called internet killswitch. The former will be a government control on what material is available and from which sources, providing such an end through a variety of means. The latter will do precisely what its name implies, provide a means by which the government can shut down the internet. If left unchecked, the federal government will be able to accomplish both these goals with congressional approval.
The obvious rebuttal to such concerns is that they would never be passed because they so clearly fly in the face of the Constitution of the United States. Unfortunately, the conservative talking point that the Obama Administration cares little for the Constitution is proving to be true. Not only is President Obama appointing “czars” that can create policy despite having no Constitutional authority to do so, but the entire administration is in violation of a ruling by a District Court.
District Court Judge Roger Vinson ruled that the Obama Administration’s health care bill- the one former Speaker Pelosi said we had to pass to find out what’s in it- was unconstitutional. Granted, it is possible that a higher court may overturn the ruling, but until that actually happens any enforcement of the Obamacare bill is illegal and those so engaged are in contempt of a federal court. That doesn’t stop the administration from pushing it forward, or prevent the useless idiots in the Democratic Party from encouraging implementation of the legislative travesty. This is a breakdown of the system of checks and balances established in the Constitution. Apparently the only laws that can be overturned by a federal judge are the ones liberals oppose, such as Proposition Eight in California. Americans must suffer the actual unconstitutional laws because, well, liberals like them.
Many Egyptians have expressed that they don’t want the Muslim Brotherhood involved in their government. Apparently they know the dangers of giving power to an organization with ties to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Third Reich. Why then, is President Obama in favor of recognizing al-Ikhwani (the Brotherhood) as a legitimate part of Egyptian government? Perhaps a bigger concern is that the Muslim Brotherhood is active within the United States in the form of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), The Muslim Student Association, the Islamic Society of North America, and has a seat on the United States Homeland Security Council. In addition, the Obama Administration lifted the ban on Tariq Ramadan, a leader within the international Muslim Brotherhood.
One thing many of us have noticed while focused on the political crisis in Egypt is how easy it was for government thugs to enact violence upon the would-be revolutionaries. Not only were they throwing Molotov cocktails and chunks of concrete, they frequently opened fire on the protesters. That’s right, with guns. Firearms that are denied the average citizen. Meanwhile, left-wing politicos are clamoring for stricter gun control. Representative Carolyn McCarthy is trying to gain support for legislation that would further restrict the availability of firearm magazines, Representative Peter King wants a law that makes it illegal to have a firearm within 1,000 feet of an elected representative, and New York’s mayor is investigating gun sales in the state of Arizona. For now we’re going to pretend that last example is not completely ridiculous.
President Obama has expressed admiration for the demonstrators in Egypt, saying they are an “inspiration.” Setting my sentimentalism aside, I have to point out that the bulk of protesters have no idea what they actually want to do beyond “get rid of Mubarak.” More radical members of the uprising set fire to buildings, including the headquarters of the ruling National Democratic Party. All the while, the insidious Muslim Brotherhood works to co-opt the uprising for its own purposes. This is the President’s “inspiration?” Let’s not forget what he and his ilk make of the Tea Party, whose peaceful protests have been mocked and ridiculed almost endlessly, despite the fact what they offer are solutions rather than ambiguous hopes. Certainly no fires have been set in their name.
This is far from an exhaustive study, but the point is clearly made. Every aspect of the Egyptian political crisis has its parallel in the United States. From a government figurehead that ignores the people to the threat of communication being cut off, all of it is a clear and present danger. As the United States economy continues to slip further down the spiral and the President flaunts his grand position, our eyes are on Egypt and our minds on what the Egyptian crisis means for the world. By no means should we turn our eyes away from the Middle East, but we have pressing matters of our own.
Left unchecked, it is only a matter of time until Tahrir Square happens again in Central Park. Until the battle of the Sixth of October Bridge is waged on the Brooklyn Bridge. Until Cairo’s attacks on the populace is brought to us by Washington.
While you worry for other nations, do not forget your own.
