By now, everyone should at least know that something is going on in Egypt. President Hosni Mubarak has been in power for over thirty years. At first glance President would suggest that he has been elected into power by the people. Whether or not that is how he got power, he has kept it through very undemocratic means. Mubarak has been oppressing the Egyptian people, and now they want change. Protestors have been gathering in Cairo, and the United States has been covering the event on a daily basis. Basically, the people are calling for a revolution. They want to take Mubarak out of power and put in a proper democratic system that will give everyone rights. Seems fair, doesn’t it? Don’t we all deserve to have basic human rights? Don’t we all deserve freedom? Isn’t this how America was formed?
Last night in Christian Ethics, we had a great debate about whether or not America needs to be doing something to help what is going on. I have a whole other side to the debate that I thought was more important to talk about. Mubarak has been in power for over thirty years. He has met with several presidents during his reign, and the United States has supported him in several ways, including monetarily. Every year Mubarak has received money from the United States for his alliance with us. Egypt is seen as a key ally in the Middle East and it seems that our country is now going to be torn in this uprising.
We knew that the Egyptians were being oppressed. Our American government knew that Mubarak had unjust power and yet we have backed him due to how it helps us. Now the media is trying to portray Mubarak as a horrible dictator. Does anyone see the contradiction? Palin called for Mubarak to reform his ways. Are you kidding? The people want him out altogether! They are done being exploited, and they want a democratic system free of him. As this event unfolds, it will be very interesting to see where America lies.
History has proven shown over and over that America has supported dictators or even put them into power when it proves beneficial for us. Is this the kind of government that we want? Do we elect people to make these decisions so that we can live our lives in blissful ignorance, completely unaware of the millions of people being killed and tortured for our sake? I am trying to reconcile these social justice issues with being an American, and, honestly, it is becoming really hard for me to stay positive about the morals that we subscribe to.
Win the future? At whose expense?
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