Perspectives
by ED CHERRYHOLMES
In 1840 the poet A. Cleveland Coxe wrote: “We are living, we are dwelling in a grand and awful time.” That certainly fits our lives in this age. For as long as we can remember, nations have been rising against each other. Governments teeter and are unstable. Who knows where it will all play out next? The latest flash points are Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Yemen and Bahrain. How many of us even knew that Bahrain is a U.S. ally located in the Persian Gulf? The countries are in chaos as citizens rise up against the long rule of monarchies and dictators.
In Egypt many regarded President Hosni Mubarak as a dictator. The citizens rose up against his government and it appeared for a long while that the multitudes might prevail. When President Mubarak announced that he would not leave before September it appeared that he would prevail. The situation seemed like a tinder box ready to burst into flames, and who knew where it would spread. The citizens of Egypt did not give up and, in despair, Mubarak resigned.
The Middle East has been a sore point forever. The U.S. seems to choose the losers to support. Now that Mubarak and his regimen are history, who does the U.S. support? If any country throws over the new Egypt, who will control the Suez Canal? We cannot afford another Iran or Afghanistan.
It is time for real dialog with those who claim to be our enemies. We cannot be too weak nor can we be too dominating. It is time to realize that the U.S. cannot control or financially support the entire world.
