This is a quote from the official response from President Obama in light of Hosni Mubarak's resignation as president of Egypt in response to the uprising that had erupted over the last 18 days. The night before, Mubarak made a statement that he would remain president, handing over some power to the vice president and saying that he would concede to some of the constitutional changes the people were demanding. The military had been, generally, on the side of the government, until Mubarak did not resign on the 10th. The authorities then sided with the people and, faced with the people AND his own military, Mubarak resigned on the 11th.
Mubarak's Egypt had been an ally to the US in the Middle East. The Obama administration has been grappling with the response to this crisis since it began on January 25th. This response focused on the Egyptians' desire for democracy and their (mostly) nonviolent way of achieving their goal.
The excerpt above was especially powerful to me. Call me naive, but I would like to think that sometimes even adults can actually act with dignity and achieve real justice.
I know that this is not a clean ending. It's not an ending at all. The military has taken power, but claim they will not remain in power long. There is an election scheduled for September, and if all goes well, it will be a free and fair election, reflecting the wishes of the people. But, September is a long way off, and even with a free election, there is a chance that the Egyptians could elect a government that is less than cooperative with the United States. But that is the double-edged sward that is empowering people to elect their own leaders.
We say that we support representative governments, like our own, but what if that government doesn't represent what we want it to represent? Do we really want to empower the people to elect the leaders whom they want to follow? Or do we want them to elect leaders who believe and govern like we want them to believe and govern? We say, "When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their own security." Can we let the Egyptians provide their own guards for their own security? Democracy and independence are not conditional. The principal is that the people have acted to oust a regime of which they did not approve and now they have the chance to select a government that will be representative of their beliefs and values.
Given the geographic and demographic situation of Egypt, there is a chance that this potential new government will be in conflict with American values if not actually violent toward them. but, as supporters of democracy, we must support that choice and understand that risk. It's part of the deal.
I don't like when rules are conditional. I also don't like wishy'washy people who are for you one day and against you the next. That's one problem I see with politics in general today. Alliances, domestic and international, are made and broken on whims as they are advantageous.
I see this in my personal like as well, and its even worse. IF you say you believe one thing, believe it, and not just until something else seems better for the moment. I like rules that are hard and fast, predictable. I don't want to spend time trying to analyze each situation to determine what my world view or anyone else's. I believe certain things, and those opinions are not conditional, and I think that, inherently, beliefs should not be conditional. Out beliefs, values, and opinions contribute to our character and shape who we are, who people perceive us to be, and how we perceive ourselves. If we can't decide who are, do we really want other people to define us instead? I think not. And, I blieve this applies to personal, professional, domestic, and international relationships. Unconditionally. Ha.