Street Talk in Egypt and Libya and More

There is no doubt that recent events have changed the conversation in the Middle East.  And--outside the Middle East-- about the Middle East. 

Within the Middle East, the first-in-a-lifetime taste of freedom and independence has stirred an appetite for a new way of life that will not be satisfied with mere crumbs of concession thrown by dictators who have no intention to do more.  And as for tyrants like Gaddafi who use extreme force on their own people to keep them in line, it has to be a matter of time before they, too, will be thrown out.  At least that is the hope of most of the world.

Americans know well the enormity of current events.  Our own history--in this young democracy of ours--is founded on the refusal of courageous ancestors to accept any longer the structures of a ruler they considered tyrannous.  And what an instructive story America has become...and it is still being written.  For all the challenges and our often desperately difficult efforts to act as a united Nation, we remain an example to others of the glories of political freedom. 

I'm fascinated by reports that in the streets of Egyptian cities, women are speaking out against sexual harassment in ways that were rare before Mubarak was toppled.  They had gotten used to silent suffering, knowing that if they did speak up, their reports would be ignored or even punished.  The conversation about women's rights is changing there and the change is likely to be permanent.

The headiness with Tunisians and Egyptians have celebrated the surprising effect of their uprisings has been infectious.  There is much to be done, and their newly won freedom is fragile, but they now have hope which charges their conversations with a new urgency about the possibilities that lay before them as individuals and as members of a newly coalesced community.

To think that even in Libya, despite the terrible violence Gaddafi has unleashed--often using African mercenaries to do what his own forces refuse to do--citizens have thus far not backed down is thrilling, though also frightful.

Let's keep talking on their behalf.  Surely the world's words of support will somehow be heard despite the media blackout.  Their pleas must be heard.  It is a conversation that, if stilled, will cost us all.