Egypt’s Unrest And The News Media

The political climate in Egypt doesn’t look good. But is that because of what we see on the news or because it really doesn’t look good?

I guess it depends on what the definition of ‘good’ is, and which side of the fence you are on. The side of democracy or the side of the Muslim Brotherhood. The latter of which want nothing to do with democracy. Well, unless you call Iran’s government a democracy.

Considering that the population in Cairo, the largest city in Egypt, is 6.8 million, is a riotous group of tens of thousands of people really representative of the other millions of Egyptians?

Not satisfied living in a country with a majority of Muslims where other religions are tolerated, it is apparent that the Muslim Brotherhood is trying to hijack the unrest over the economic disaster that Egyptians find themselves living in, and turn it into some sort of Islamic state like Iran; hostile to the West, Israel, and the rest of the non-Muslim world.

Calling for Mubarak to step down before the scheduled September elections, like President Obama has done, plays into the hands of the radical Islamists. And his calling for all opposition parties to have some representation in the ‘new’ government, including the Muslim Brotherhood, only exacerbates the problem. That irresponsible action just reinforces what we are shown in the media. Pretty presumptuous of our President to tell Egyptians how their government should be assembled. No doubt President Obama is overflowing with audacity.

The only reason for optimism in Egypt now is that the other 6.7 million Egyptians will keep a secular and more democratic government in place. Given the choice in a free and legitimate election, it is hard to imagine that they would choose a government that is anything like Iran.