Alexandria is a dirty city. We were there about ten days ago, just before we left for Jordan and Dubai. It was raining hard and some of the streets were almost impassable. Infrastructure was shaky. Buildings were not well-maintained.
There was a lot of poverty in Alexandria, as there was (and is) in a lot of the Middle East. Some of this is caused by indifferent governments, up to here in corruption and driven by incredible greed and some of it is the result of deliberate policies by companies to insure a plentiful supply of cheap labor - again driven by greed.
The present revolution against the government of Hosni Mubarak is driven more by a desire for economic reform than political reform. Freedom to many is measured in the ability to shelter and feed one's family. Mubarak has not adequately addressed this and the people have had enough. If the army doesn't crush the rebellion, I feel Mubarak will go. What happens after that is what people are worried about. They should be.
There's a temptation to blame religion for the violence that causes - and generally follows - revolution. In the case of Egypt, religion certainly is playing a part with the Moslem Brotherhood a very real political force in the effort to effect regime change. But it's worth noting that religion seldom kills people - it's the fan clubs of the various faiths that do the hell-raising. Add the more-than-willing suppliers of guns and explosives thoughtfully financed by interested governments and you have a recipe for disaster. Money can be made.
In America, many of us like to follow the K.I.S.S principle. However, keeping it simple, stupid, may work in some cases, but not in this one. The first impulse among the majority of our Simple brethren is to blame Islam. This is evident in some of the knuckleheads populating our Congress who want to limit the number of mosques or pass other laws that mock our Constitution. More thoughtful people realize that it is fanaticism more than any religion that causes violence and destruction. This is as true for the Spanish Inquisition then as it is for Islamic extremists or abortion clinic bombers now.
This is why extremism is so dangerous for America in this time of world instability. In order to insure our own survival, we must do whatever is needed to prevent the kind of blind reaction that is currently blighting the Middle East. We have to support reasonable tax equality at home in order to reduce the disparity between haves and have-nots. We have to speak out against the kind of hate that sprouts like poison ivy among the ignorant and the malevolent, aimed at separating the "thems" from the "usses." We have to call them on it. Whenever we hear the words "all," "every" or "none," we have to question them. Who can speak for "all" Muslims, Jews, liberals, conservatives, tea partiers, greens or anyone else?
We have to realize that fanaticism is an enemy of America as much, if not more, than any particular form of terrorism because fanaticism is the root of all forms of terrorism. Doing anything to encourage it weakens everything America is supposed to stand for.
Fighting fanatacism is not a partisan issue. A communist fanatic is just as dangerous as a fascist one - and just as dangerous as the guy who won't listen to facts becuase his mind is made up. Especially dangerous is the person who thinks God has told him the truth and anyone who doesn't agree is against God.
The flames of fanatacism generally serves as a welcome mat to other places where flames play a big part.