A republic, if they can keep it

[derby378]

Egypt, just to keep things in a histoical perspective, doesn't have much experience with democratic governance.

From the Pharaohs to the Greeks to the Romans to the Ottomans all the way up to Hosni Mubarak, the majority of Egypt's rulers tended to be rather autocratic. With Mubarak's departure only a few hours ago, the military is now in charge. We are told elections are on the way.

I would remind my fellow DUers, however, of what happened in Russia after Czar Nicolas II was given the boot in 1917. Georgy Lvov and Alexander Kerensky both served as head of state during a failed attempt to establish democratic rule in Russia that lasted less than a year before the Bolsheviks strong-armed their way into power and Lenin reorganized everything along the lines of Marx and Engels. Lenin, as far as Communist leaders went, shunned the opulence that easily could have been his, but he was still a complicated man who ruled the new Soviet Union with an iron hand.

Which brings us back to Egypt. Democracy is not perfect, and sometimes it just isn't pretty. But in its earliest stages, democracy can also be quite vulnerable. How many would-be dictators are looking for their chance to seize the reins of power and promise peace and prosperity in exchange for the silence and compliance of the Egyptian people? And would Egypt's next head of state be able to stop terrorists and religious zealots from blowing up the Sphinx and/or the Pyramids? Let's not forget what happened to that magnificent Buddha in Afghanistan.

What we are seeing unfold in Egypt tonight is historic, indeed. But as The Wolf said in Pulp Fiction, "Let's not start sucking each other's dicks just yet." There is a lot of work to do, and a lot that can go wrong in the quest to secure for the Egyptian people the voice that is rightfully theirs.

On edit: See #1. I goofed big-time. :dunce:

[Taverner]

1. Very true - but it's the wolf, not the fox

WHAT DOES MARCELLUS WALLACE LOOK LIKE????

[bdamomma]

2. they have alot of work to do

they need all their professionals to go back to egypt and build their country.

[bbinacan]

3. I think we should expect

a theocratic dictatorship.

[derby378]

4. Say goodbye to the pyramids, the Sphinx, the Valley of the Kings, etc.

Wahabism was born in the slums of Cairo. It cannot be allowed to seize power, otherwise the world will lament the wholesale destruction of a historical record that is rightfully the province of all mankind.

[bbinacan]

5. Yep. n/t

[The Magistrate]

6. Actually, Sir, Its Origin Is In Medina, In Arabia

[derby378]

12. Thanks for the clarification, but I do remember...

...that there was a certain malignant strain of fundamentalist Islam born in Cairo. Can you help me out, here?

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. You are thinking of the Brotherhood born in 1923

to fight british occupation. It was not particularly malignant, even if they did engage in terror.

They evolved into something more fundamental, and in the end the fundies split from them, which has evolved into a political party that holds about 15% of the potential electorate. This is not a muslim revolution,

[The Magistrate]

15. Here, Sir, Is The Best Current 'Quick Read' On the Topic

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/what-is-the-muslim-brotherhood?page=1#

[derby378]

16. Thanks! (You too, nb)

:hi:

[tekisui]

7. There is nothing to indicate that is where they are heading.

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Ah yes and the US had a lot of experience with Jeffersonian Democracy in 1789

...

And we did not have an issue with slavery and women had the vote.

I expect problems... but I will not go as far as to claim that they cannot do this.

That said... their democracy, if indeed one develops, will NOT look like oh the US... oh and they do have a historic experience with protection of the minority, earlier than us actually... by a few hundred years... in the Caliphate.

[derby378]

9. I came really close to bringing up the Articles of Confederation in the OP

Women's suffrage and slavery are duly noted, but there was also the Whiskey Rebellion, Dred Scott, and the massacre of Native Americans at the hands of people like Gen. Custer that I could have invoked. But I didn't want the OP to become too Amerocentric.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. The point is that no young democracy is born fully formed

:-)

But if you want equivalents, they are about the articles of confederation stage.

[derby378]

11. Articles of Confederation Stage is good

It was rough-and-tumble for us as it will likely be for them, but we were able to move into Constitution Stage, and I hope the Egyptians are able to do likewise.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. They should

I am also betting, mostly they said as much on the tv, on a parliamentary system with a weak president.