A form of democracy in Egypt

Some thoughts while switching from CNN to MSNBC to al Jazeera to Fox News and back around...

In Hong Kong, Portugal, Turkey, Egypt and other countries, existing governments and their ideologies are challenged by hundreds of thousands of citizens assembling and protesting in the streets.  There is often no right to, belief in or patience for an electoral process to bring about change.  Of course, the "mobs" may be manipulated and in the minority.  They may be deceiving or destructive.  They may have force of arms or not.  They may hold the will and desires of the majority of citizens or not.  Where there is protest there may be counter-protest.  Where there is success, the governments either change or adjust.  Repression or relief may follow.

On a vastly different scale Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street protesters expressed their own challenge within our democracy.  To this point, it is our assumptions that the primary offices, the congress, the executive and the Supreme Court understand, accept, appreciate and apply the rules of law drawn from the Constitution for the Common Welfare.  Whiskey and tea advocates aside, we accept the primacy and legitimacy of the ballot over the street.  At least for now.

Is Egypt an example of what form "democracy" must take there (and elsewhere) if it is to have any existence where assumptions such as ours are not held by the people?  Does the faith in or the need for the Egyptian Army as the core of the nation compare to our faith and need for the Constitution?  The Egyptian people have found a way to express and demand their pluralistic interests through freedom of assembly.  "Democracy" evolves or will kill itself.

The First Step

Speaking only of Egypt, one of the more probable reactions of the United States will be to overreact. The greatest threat to moderation in Egypt and stability in the region may come from our overreaction to a more vigorous defense of the Palestinians (from which Hezbollah would be an unintended beneficiary) by the new Egyptian government. First, I assume that the tide of democratic aspirations retains a vitality and that the morality of the defiant, yet peaceful, youth that carried those aspirations will form a significant part of the zeitgeist within Egypt. Finally, I assume that the Egyptian military's Supreme Council will, in fact, allow "to materialize the aspirations of the Egyptian people." While most in the population will be focused on personal self-interest and, necessarily, economic progress, Egypt will seek to redefine external politics. This redefinition may include a stronger commitment to the Palestinians who fit a model of an oppressed, fellow Arab people. Rather than wait for an evolving Egyptian foreign policy to solidify in this direction, a direction that assuredly would prompt Israel to strengthen its counter-position, the United States should seize an opportunity to move toward a resolution. Commentators have been looking to the possible continuation of this popular movement in the other Arab countries with oppressive regimes and the probability of violence. Israel has no immunity nor should it.