Syria

The spring uprising continues to baffle me.  Not the fact that it is happening but the fact that the 'rulers' of the countries that have gone down to defeat and the ones who are still clinging to power do not have the intelligence to change course.  Management of any situation demands that you know and understand what is happening to cause management of a situation to occur.  It seems that the leaders and former leaders had sufficient management skills to be able to coordinate and maintain a power structure.  Why is it that they lacked the management skills to be able to shift their thinking into a more humanitarian aspect rather than concentrating solely on letting the peasants eat cake ... or dung ... or nothing as the case may be.  I think that it is wonderful that the people have been able to express themselves strongly enough to overthrow the shackles of tyranny.  I also fear for the consequences.

When the former USSR toppled under its own weight, Russia went in a democratic direction.  As things have played out though, it seems that not only the leaders need to be educated but also 'the serfs'.  What experience did the common man in Russia have to be able to understand the nuances and responsibilities that accrue under democracy.  The answer is obviously, none!  The result is readily apparent with a new power structure having taken over from the old and democracy slowly being whittled away.  I fear the same will transpire under the new regimes in Tunisia and Libya.  Egypt at least has a history of attempted democracy and could go forward but again, it is going to take more than a year or two; it is going to take a generation or two.

My hope is that all of the democratic and soon-to-be democratic countries (and yes, that includes the United States of America) are able to educate their citizens and are blessed with leadership who understands that they need to lead, not coerce in order to build a better society for all of their citizens.