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July 8, 2005
Fundamentalists Control the Game in Middle East
After the London terrorist attack yesterday I couldn't help but think about the state of society in the Middle East. I realize this is a very broad brushstroke because each area and country is different, but there clearly is something very wrong in the region. It is hard not to think of the region as a political and social cesspool, breeding uneducated, poor youth who have few options in life. Too many turn to outlandish religious beliefs to find direction for their anger and rage. Fundamentalists terrify the ruling elites. The governments, mostly dictatorships hiding behind pseudo-democracies or monarchies, do little to counteract extremists, who hold many of these countries in such fear.
Tom Friedman, from the NY Times, has addressed this issue for the past few years, calling on moderates throughout the region to stand up to this behavior. He contends that the region can only change when moderate elements condemn extremists and take real control of their own societies, pulling them into the global economy. I agree. Granted there is much that we in the west can do to help not only them, but ourselves, in changing behavior. But ulimately, we can only hope that moderate voices will rise up to make a real revolution. Until that happens we are in for a long, horrible "game" between civilized societies and some exceedingly bad people.
Posted by Chip Spear at July 8, 2005 12:28 PM
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