and now libya

Do we support democracy, that is the question. Yes, or republics with representational governments that have legislatures, instead of mere mob rule-majority over minority with no protections for the weak, the few. If it is merely a question do we desire that those living under oppresion should be free, that is a no-brainer. Of course. But that is not the only question. Do we want to interfere in a foreign government to help replace it with another oppresive one? No.

Yet the freedom loving army in Egypt has marched on and destroyed part of a monastery, sending several monks to the hospital. Those in authority deny any wrongdoing, but the video proves otherwise, and the men present in the hospital speak louder than the denials. The police that had been assigned to protect the place vacated their posts during the recent riots, leaving the holy men with no protection. After that, they built a wall to keep out rioters and other Islamists that fail to respect others' right to worship differently.

The army came with tanks and of course, bullets to tear down and try to scare off the opposition. Because anyone who doesn't believe as they do are their enemies. If this were merely limited to Egypt, it would be an isolated incident. But it is not. From Indonesia to Morocco, all over the world, Islamic states oppress Christians and Jews, and any that do not follow their teaching. In fact, they oppress little girls, making them marry for the benefit of dirty old men. They fail to protect their women, allowing them to be raped, unless they foresaw the problem and had four male witnesses-who presumably stood by and watched. Because if they did not, if they tried to stop it, the rape wouldn't have occurred.

Foreigners may be allowed to worship in a church, but a church cannot expand its facilities to accomodate them. It cannot replace structures that need repairs, even if it is an ancient site of hundreds of years. And under no circumstances may those believers expound their beliefs to the citizens of the country, allowing them to convert. So, should the soldiers who would bring freedom to a place desire to visit or live in said "democracy", they themselves would experience no freedom. Thus, the question of whether we in the west should intervene to prove our dedication to liberty, begs the question of whether there would indeed be freedom there. It is more, should we expend our monies and extend our debt, injure or kill our sons for another form of oppression? To which I have to exclaim, no. Not only no, but hell no.

Our president has praised the soldiers of Egypt and Libya who failed to obey their leader's instructions to shoot on their people. To do so would be a heinous sin. What would those men face before the leaders are replaced? They face charges of disobedience, of treason. Our president approves of this. So, I would tell our military, follow his values, be a traitor to this president who would send you to overthrow another government, to step into another country's fight.* Not that we approve of their leader. But a people who embrace oppression have no right to ask for help in replacing one form of oppression with another. Not our job.

If we send our men, let it be to establish freedom. If they come home wounded for life, minus a limb, with post-traumatic stress syndrome that destroys their family life or ability to work, let it be to send liberty throughout that country. Otherwise let those who embrace oppression wallow in it. And let us pay off our debts, including those for liberating a country who had incredible resources but left us to handle our own problems, rather than share their oil. For those who want to have roadside bombs rather than voting for their countrymen, education for their women, burkas for the females rather than freedom to move or see or work or travel where they desire. Are we to pay twice the amount for oil for a different oppressive government? Not a wise move if we think of our own interests. Throw off your dictators yourselves.

This is indeed a problem to me. For I do not want to be misconstrued as supporting Ghaddafi. Partly I have indulged a smugness over those who tolerate oppression-whether in the Middle East, North Africa, South or Central America, even Mexico. WE, I tell myself, overthrew the greatest army of our time. The British were a formidable force to reckon with. My ancestors faced them along with the ancestors of many other Americans. We pride ourselves on their courage, as well as that of other generations who threw off Nazi's, Japs, and other oppressors around the world. This includes the folks in Morocco who captured one of our citizens. Teddy Roosevelt sent in the Marines at Tripoli to attack from the east, transversing Libya and Algeria to get there.

If others want freedom, I say, they must gather their courage and face their oppressors before they can earn the right. But it is bluster, and I admit it. Without the presence of the French at a momentous time, we would have failed. Perhaps to win it later, but who knows. Without a Prussian general, who trained us, the army at Valley Forge would not have been the force George Washington needed. But then again, our hunting rifles could outshoot them. Our guerilla warfare similar in fact to tactics of terrorists- hiding within the civilian population and behind trees rather than out in the open as an army. The British did not own automatic weapons or bazookas, that facing would have been suicide.

So do we owe this to another people, to enable them as they have shown the courage to fight? I think after the last two world wars, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf I and II, we do not owe anyone anything. But still, is it true to our values? Might we hope that a people owning their own rights might discover what freedom is? Even if they start with an Islamic state, might they learn that Islam doesn't work, as Iran has, and decide that is not what they really want? Perhaps. And would a world several decades from now be a better place? Don't know, but would the deaths required to get there be a worthy investment of American blood and resources? If we are not positive, then let us wait until we are. (They must decide for themselves, and have, the worth of their own lives.) I speak here as an American, not as a Christian. Because if the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church, the losses of Christians might be justified to free an entire country, region, peoples of their delusions. But neither should they be minimized.

*Disclaimer. I do not advocate treason against America. I would hope the Pentagon would have its own leaders who would protest if Obama used our troops to further Islamic issues. However, I have full confidence in our military that they would do their duty, and would not listen to someone such as I who has the right to say whatever I think because of their courage. Whether the President has American issues at heart, or not, I think our country is strong enough to withstand his mistakes and stupidity until the next election. Though it would be nice to think if a group of us decided to stay in some square complaining about the incredible problems he has caused, that he would have the same sensitivity to step down that he has preached to others.

And though there are those who would object saying, "But we support him," an understanding person might add, "yes, well surely there were many in the places where protests were taking place that supported their leaders, or at least were happily going about their lives in peace and safety that a riot or revolution would put in jeopardy." Not that I expect any of this to occur, but neither do I believe we have the right to demand a leader to step down merely because some group or combination of groups coordinated their efforts to embarrass their president. Those would be, per witness testimony: Islamists, socialists, communists, and unions, but I repeat myself. It is pompous, presumptious of us to announce who should have the right to lead in a country not our own. Surely we heard this enough in the war in Iraq. Or is that a sentiment expressed purely to manipulate a situation when it is not going the way others want?