It has been interesting, as a long-time contributor to Daily Kos, to observe the great mass of at least nominally progressive thinkers and writers that populate this blog criticize, defend, praise and mock President Obama, first in the campaign and in the two years since.
Some of us, robbed of a progressive populist to vote for, have reluctantly supported Obama along the way, hoping he would live up to his immense potential as leader of a people-powered movement. We have been sorely disappointed in his deference to Wall St.'s criminals, to the former administration's criminals and to the policies his predecessor put in place, particularly vis-a-vis Iraq and Afghanistan. We saw those as wars of economic aggression, and not as wars of necessity.
The opinions of Dennis Kucinich, whom I have voted for and admired, notwithstanding, some wars are different.
We watched anxiously as democracy drew in its first breath in Tunisia, although we might have expected it from one of the most European of the North African nations. We cheered the success of the people of Egypt in their struggle against a brutal dictator even though we'd been propping him up with our tax dollars for decades.
Oh, sure, some people expressed concern that, well, they may not vote for people we want to deal with, and that's true. We may not vote for people THEY want to deal with, either. That's the nature of self-determination. People have their own views, their own beliefs, their own traditions and aspirations. In America, we believe that people have the right to those things, as expressed in our founding documents. Still, we cheered, and did so, at least in part, because of the role of the technology that we see beginning to empower people against the multinational corporate interests that have called the shots for the last 100 years. As for our "friend" Mubarak, well, some people deserve to be thrown under the bus.
We cheered, too, as Libyan rebels advanced from their Benghazi stronghold and began to retake their country, feeling buoyed by the successes of their neighbors. For a while, it appeared the great dictator Qaddafi, the butt of a million late-night jokes, might be forced from power and another Muslim nation freed from the clutches of tyranny.
Then we watched in horror as he turned his heaviest war machinery on Libyans themselves, young ones like many of us, technologically-aware. It just didn't seem right that a popular rebellion should be quashed by implements of war, implements provided by the West and its insatiable thirst for oil. We watched, disheartened, as the exciting march of self-determination was turned back, beaten back and threatened with "merciless" assault in its final refuge. We watched as the UN slowly came to a decision we could support and were somewhat relieved when the ceasefire was announced following the start of the air strikes.
Now we're treated to the chorus of True Believers questioning the wisdom of our military action. "We must impeach Obama over this aggression!" Et tu, Kucinich?
The idea that it was somehow wrong to seize this historic opportunity to be on the right side of history in the Muslim world just strikes me as crazy. We created this problem by our failure to bring Qaddafi to justice as a terrorist, our arming him and allowing him to steal billions of dollars from his own people. And sure, that was the same line that allowed Bush to attack Saddam Hussein's Iraq, another of our creations. But the difference remains that we knew the Bush administration was lying, and we knew it was about the oil. We saw the maps.
We don't have that essential deception here in our support for the Libyan people. As disappointed as we've been in Obama's inaction where we think action is most appropriate, bringing our domestic criminals to justice for their crimes against the American people, we have not been disappointed by the fundamental character of the man, Obama. We still think his intentions are honorable, and I wouldn't say anything he's done in this Libyan campaign reflects otherwise.
Yes, it is utterly hypocritical for us to fail to support this wave of popular sentiment across the Middle East, whether it occurs in a pariah nation like Libya or in Saudi Arabia or Yemen. This is a crisis of identity for America. Are we a supporter of freedom and democracy, or are we a supporter of our economic interests above all else? In this case, we have chosen a course of action that could well have a negative impact on our economy and certainly on the individuals doing the fighting and their families. Ultimately, however, it is a course of action made right by its intention, to help the Libyan people in their struggle against a ruthless, maybe mindless tyranny.
As a people with the capacity and morality to support the unlikeliest of regional revolutions, we are obligated to this fight. We are obliged to support those putting their lives on the line for what we say we believe in. Even if the outcomes of their elections have a negative short-term impact, in the long run, these people will remember that we came to their aid, as surely as the Statue of Liberty stands in New York's harbor. They will know that what we say we believe is what we believe, and they will respect that, and, ultimately, us.