The Democratic Revolution in Egypt

The eyes of America have been turned recently on Egypt for a couple of reasons.  One is that Oklahoma and other places have been in deep debilitating snow for a week or more with a few intermittent breaks.  And another reason is that millions of people worldwide have been showing solidarity with the youth movement in that nation, which is calling for democratic elections.  Today's photo is my beautiful daughter Katy and her husband Josh.  For their honeymoon, they flew to Italy and took a Mediterranean cruise, visiting Greece, Cypress, Egypt and Italy in 2009.  It must be ironic for a nation which is so rich in tourist wonders to have violence and unrest over democracy, since they are warning tourists that their safety cannot be assured.  The 'cost' of democracy is a sort of constant flux and unpredictability from year to year.  The value of a stable long term benevolent dictator is predictable sameness, which is an times good and at times bad. 

I read that Egypt is almost globally owned, thus making it highly dependent on international trade and commerce.  Egypt jumped right on the globalism bandwagon and is now seeing the disparity between its own poverty (the average income is just a few thousand dollars per year) and the glitzy flash of the upper class which comes there to see the sites of the ancient world and vacation in one of the most desireable places in the middle east. 

For days, snowed in, I watched CNN and LinkTV interviewing young people on the streets and covering the demonstration.  I watched C-Span where the Egyptian Prime Minister walked the fine balance between endorsing the democratic movement and risking being labelled as an oppressor.

My hope is for democratic elections soon, with transparency and wide participation.  I hope a coalition government emerges which can address the economic frailties of the Egyptian economy, give hope to all classes, and restore confidence in Egypt as a travel destination.  I have never been there, and it is a place with much rich history that I would like to experience.