The New Dark Ages?

Are the events occuring in Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and elsewhere in the Middle East a precursor life as it will be in the 21st Century? Will we see the similar events spreading to Europe and then onto the Americas? I believe there is a distinct possibility.

What we are seeing in the "democratic" revolts are people who have been under the thumb of dictators and despots for some time. The people see what the world has to offer through the electronic media that is available today and they want the same things that Europeans and Americans have. However, my question is-- will these people have the patience to let the flower of democracy grow and bloom or will they become impatient with the process and turn to someone or some group that will promise democracy but will turn against them when they gain power.

Democracy as practiced in most of the western world is a messy process. It relies on discussion and compromise. Very rarely does either side get everything they want. There always is a bit of dissatisfaction with any result since "it was the best we could get." We who are familiar with the process, accept it as part of the way we govern. For those who are new to democracy, soon become frustrated with the sloppiness of how the system works.

Additionally, our system of government does not work quickly. It is deliberate, it is contemplative and it does provide instant answers. The concern with these new democracy movements is that they seem to want things to change instantly. "Yesterday we had a despot, today we want our freedom" seems to be the thinking. Most functioning democracies rely upon a Constitution, laws and a government to carry out those laws. This does not occur overnight.

So what happens when these movements realize that democracy is not easy and that a working government takes time and visionary leadership. Will they give it the time and more importantly, will the leadership rise to the top?

In a word, no. The "instant democracy" has never occurred. In the United States, we had to do it twice before we got it right. We started with the Articles of Confederation which failed after 11 years and was replaced with our current Constitution. However, even the new Constitution had to be immediately amended with the Bill of Rights to make it palatable to the individual states.

It takes time and patience to make a democracy work. The people of the Middle East will not give it the time to work. For example, Egypt in its 5000 year history has had a democracy only a handful of years. They are not experienced with democracy as their history is one of being told what to do by whomever is the ruler of the day.

So what will happen? It appears that Egypt will follow the Iranian model in that a strong leader or leaders will arise and say the right things. They will speak eloquently about freedom and democracy while sowing the seeds of their own dictatorship. Once they consolidate their power, any hope for democracy will end.

The irony is that most of the leaders in the "new democracy" countries will be Muslim. Sharia Law will be the rule of the land. Democracy as we know it will not exist. Essentially, the Middle East, other than Israel, will descend into the 12th century thinking of Islam.

Once these new leaders have consolidated their power in their individual countries, they will look elsewhere to spread their form of "democracy." We will see it spread to Europe and maybe the Scandanvian countries. American "progressives" will pontificate on the need to become "one with the world" and that we should not be the lone country that does not acknowledge Sharia.

Sharia is not the answer to the world's problems, it is the problem. How can a world progress when women have NO rights, where religious leaders run the government, where people who are not Muslim are less than human? This is not democracy, this is not where everyone can gain depending upon their own abilities, and this is not a place where you can worship any got you so desire.

However, this is the world we will be facing unless there are strong measures taken to prevent it. If we, as citizens of the world, want the world to continue to improve, we cannot stand for Islam's march. If we do not, Islam will take over the world and the world as we know it will disappear. We will then return to the Dark Ages. I for one do not want that to occur. Do you?