For the past several months, countries in the Middle East and North Africa have been hit by a wave of protests, started by the people for the people, in the hopes of bringing about change in their governments. It is phenomenal to be able to see an event like this happen in an area of the world where such an occurrence is least expected. Of course the United States and other democratic nations all over the world were quick to jump onto the bandwagon, supporting the protestors and their actions. And yet for most of these rebelling countries, these public gestures of goodwill are just empty words, with no hope of aid standing behind them.
Fortunately, many of these protests have not needed foreign intervention. They have either been supported by the countries armed forces or have ended with the government recognizing the will of the people, leading them to either step down or make political concessions. But some governments have refused to stand down, including Muammar Gaddafi,† who has even gone as far as slaughtering his own people wholesale in order to maintain power. Still, for weeks all that the “free-world” could do was create an unenforced no-fly zone over Libya. Eventually NATO decided to get involved and enforced the no-fly zone, along with bombing several of Gaddafi’s tank units and facilities. By doing this, the U.S. has partially been able to uphold its self-entrusted duty as the upholder of global freedom and democracy. Even though, like all of our other ventures in the Middle East, we enter at the hope of acquiring more oil.
Still, how can we parade ourselves as the “leader of the free-world” when we are so bigoted as a nation? During the months of these protests, many news anchors have asked, “Are they ready for freedom?” But who are we to ask that when we do not offer freedom in its fullest extent to our own citizens? With state governments’ firm actions against gay rights and even the immigration laws passed in Arizona, it is folly to still think that we are the arbiter of freedom in the world. We cannot pretend to applaud the acts of people across the world while in our own country people just like them are met with prejudice and hatred.
I like to see myself as an optimist. I hope Americans discover that people across the world are fighting for their basic rights. I also hope that this will help the less tolerant side of America see that, in reality, those people are not so different from us and are not out to kill democracy. Yet I am sure even during the past few months people of Middle Eastern descent are still being profiled by airport security and are still being told to “go back home” by people who believe that the United States is only for the average white American, instead of being the melting pot of different cultures that this country has thrived on.
In this sense we are behind our European allies and even on par with some of the practices of the most stringent Islamic laws, the very laws that protestors are trying to break. I think we should take a page from these brave protestors and seek to not only help them with their goals but maybe make our own country freer in the process. Either way, if we want to continue to hang our hat on the idea that we salute, protect, and enforce freedom in the world, we need to start holding ourselves to the same standards.
Bill Burkhart is a contributor to the Voice. He can be reached for comment at BBurkhart12@wooster.edu.