Quest for Dignity
is the title of a piece about the Middle East in today's Boston Globe by historian Richard Norton Smith and former ranking CIA analyst for the region Emile Nakhleh. It is subtitled "Sustained demonstrations cripple government, compel change" and is well worth reading. Here's the link
There are 4 key points in the piece, which I will quote, but which I then wish to explore as they might or might not be applicable to our own society.
Popular demonstrations provide American policy makers with several lessons and challenges. First, the generation calling for change is generally youthful, inclusive, tolerant, and not beholden to the regime. Nor are they controlled or directed by Islamist radicals. In Tunisia, Egypt, and Bahrain, Islamist movements had to play catch-up with the revolt. Second, Islamist leaders quickly realized that they are only one of many voices in the movement and that they must collaborate with emerging centers of power to help chart their country’s future.Third, imperiled Arab autocracies are now in a rush to clean up their act. Whether the sitting
