Due to recent events involving the current situation in the Middle East, the U.S. government has been forced to reexamine its policies on a variety of different issues. The most prominent issue being where does the loyalties of the government lie — with the people, or with the existing governing regimes?
At what point does the agenda of the American people interfere with that of the Egyptian or Bahraini people? If the United States claims to be the shining light of democracy to the world we should not only support it when it is convenient, but also when the advantages of doing so may not be as clear cut.
The Egyptian people, along with various nations of the Middle East, have begun to get a taste of the freedoms that we the American people enjoy and sometimes even take for granted. We cannot withhold democracy from others for the sake of keeping the peace with corrupt and oppressive dictators. As the situation continues to play out, it should be the top priority of the United States to support the people rather than the regimes that we have backed for so long.
Tucker Johnson
Cedar City