As dictators fall

George Bush was right to assume that the dictatorships ruling the Middle East were bound to fall. He was wrong, however, to assume that U.S. military force was necessary to make it happen.

Egypt, Tunisia and now Libya (and likely Syria) show that change comes from the grassroots, whether through nonviolent protest or through armed resurrection and cannot be imposed from above.

Admittedly, stability has not been achieved in either Tunisia or Egypt, but Afghanistan and Iraq remain violent, dangerous places despite the presence of American troops.

Change does not occur easily and there remains a danger that all of these countries could fall under the sway of new despots or religious fanatics. But what we need to learn is that we cannot manage these changes; the best we can do is react to them and profess our commitment to human rights — economic and gender equality, minority representation and self-determination.

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet