Posted on 02/26/2011 4:15:57 AM PST by rickmichaels
As people’s insurrections spread in the Arab world, it might be useful for those watching the mayhem gather pace to take time out from television and reach for some historical perspective.
There is no substitute for such perspective to put in context the Arab drama unfolding before our eyes. And like a play of several acts, it will have many scene changes before the curtain eventually comes down.
From North Africa to the Persian Gulf, Arab regimes are trembling. Some will fall and others will change colours to barely survive.
The Libyan thug Moammar Gadhafi did not imagine his thugocracy could so quickly unravel. He might meet the fate of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, executed by his rebellious soldiers, or that of Saddam Hussein, with a noose around his neck.
But as the drama unfolds, three things will increasingly stand out.
First, former president George W. Bush, despite those who ridiculed him, was right in insisting, “Freedom is not America’s gift to the world; it is God’s gift to all humanity.”
Arabs could not be denied freedom, nor condemned to the rule of despots. Bush was right in promoting the freedom agenda — though fair-minded individuals can have disagreements on the details and how it is implemented — and right in bringing regime change in Iraq.
Secondly, freedom and democracy slowly taking roots in post-Saddam Iraq — despite the immense effort of some Arab regimes and Iran’s tyrants in league with marauding tribes and thugs to destroy the constitutionally elected government in Baghdad — is profoundly altering the politics of the Arab world.
This will be Bush’s legacy.
Thirdly, the recent events in Cairo confirm the Egyptian state has remained strong and the military has held the centre. This has prevented the sort of anarchy into which Libya’s thuggish regime is sinking.
All of this brings me to recall Tahseen Bashir (1925-2002), an Egyptian diplomat likely few, if any, who read this column would know.
Bashir was born and grew up in Alexandria during the inter-war years of the last century when Egypt experienced a rare moment of liberalism. He came to the U.S. as a young man, studied and graduated from Princeton, became a diplomat and served Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak.
Bashir also served as Egypt’s ambassador in Ottawa from 1981 to 1985. He belonged to a generation that embraced liberalism, and he was keenly aware of what could be Egypt’s role in the transition of the Arab world from ancient to modern.
Bashir counselled peace between Arabs and Israelis as children of Abraham. And he famously described Arab politics stating, “Egypt is the only nation-state in the Arab world; the rest are just tribes with flags.” It is the closed and obsolete world of Arab tribes that is falling apart. And to place in context events unfolding across the Arab world, one of the most insightful explanations is a book published some 20 years ago.
David Pryce-Jones’s The Closed Circle: An Interpretation of the Arabs is as relevant today as it was when it was first published. Another similarly relevant book is Fouad Ajami’s The Arab Predicament first published in 1981.
Freedom is the natural state of man, whether it comes form God or not. It is inherent in both the faithful and the godless. Freedom is threatened when man decides that he will decide for others what they should or will do. Therefore, freedom is only threatened by man, either individually, or organized into governments.
Despite our reservations about the capacity of the Libyans to use freedom wisely, now is the time to insist upon something resembling Government By the People in that benighted country. These opportunities don’t come around everyday, and it speaks poorly for the West if we don’t even try.
Speak up Obama! What’s that? You’re “intensifying consultations”? Uh-huh.
If freedom is God’s gift to humanity, why has He denied it to so many in the past and present? He knows the future, so why not let everyone have it, all the time?
This will be Bush’s legacy.
I remind you Salim, that whatever legacy an ex president might have, comes because of the will of the freedom loving American people and the armed forces who make the policy possible and sustainable, and never to be forgotten are those who paid the ultimate price for the liberty and freedom of literally tens of millions. God bless their sacrifice in behalf of humanity.
The Mideast is not fighting for freedom. They’re trying to decide which new thug’s heel they will live under. As long as there is islam there will be slavery
Freedom is not the natural state of man. If it were, it would occur effortlessly.
Tyranny is the natural state of man. If God gave us political freedom, we would all be free.
And the thugocracy in Libya has lasted a LOT of years, and it will continue on in Egypt with just another name at the top.
He offers the gift of freedom and salvation. Many choose not to accept it.
why has He denied it to so many in the past and present?
Is this a rhetorical question?
There is no freedom in the Arab world - the people are slaves of Allah (satan). For them to successfully embrace democracy, they must first reject their religion. Otherwise, any democratic adventures in that region are bound to end badly.
Well....we can cheer the population ridding themselves of dictators or tyrants all day long. But if a Khomeni and sharia law replace them, they and the world will be much worse off.
As far as I am concerned its a wait and see situation.
Janis Joplin: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to loose.”
Free Will. GOD allows us to travel our road, we have a set of instructions but are not forced into following them. We must make the choice.
Freedom is a spoil of war. God's gift is sitting in a fortress in the middle of your enemies territory.
No
What does that have to do with this article?
What does free will have to do with these people?
My thought on the subject is this: Since the beginning of time, man has had two choices, following the Creator, or ignoring him at the peril of your freedom. He gave man liberty and we see the value placed upon it, depending on which of the two choices one decides on.
Cain thought to prosper by taking his brothers life thus depriving him of his freedom and liberty. It wasn’t God that didn’t give, it was Cain and those like him that take away what God has given freely.
What does following the Creator have to do with people born somewhere that has a dictator in control?
For your consideration:
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"...Liberals -- classical liberals, anyway, not the misnamed leftist kind -- have always understood that property is much more than property. Rather, it is the cornerstone of freedom, its very enabler and protector. And underneath property is the use of legitimate violence to protect said property.
"...the second amendment is even more fundamental than the right to private property, since property won't remain private for long without the legitimate threat of violence to bring home the lesson to your fellow citizen that he has no right to help himself to what belongs to you -- including your most precious possessions, your life, the lives of your loved ones..." bttt
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