In the wake of successful revolution, Tunisia's and Egypt’s greatest need is to identify extraordinary leaders possessing the passion and ability to articulate a vision for developing and governing a free society.
It is one of the ironies of freedom—nations conceived and governed “of the people, by the people, for the people” nevertheless require leaders. The “people” can voice their will, but the people can’t ultimately lead. This was true in Colonial America, certainly during the run-up and experience of the American War for Independence, and in the early days of the Republic. It remains true today. In early American times John and Abigail Adams were such leaders.
In Joseph J. Ellis’s recent book First Family: Abigail and John Adams, he explores the more than 1200 letters this remarkable couple left to history. These letters reveal their incredible partnership and Abigail’s sharp intellect, common sense, and steady personality, all of which provided John the stable port in the storm his restless intellect and personality required. With her support, John played a critical role in leading the Continental Congress toward independence and later authoring the first constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Eventually he became the first Vice President and second President of the United States.
John and Abigail were two of an exceptional generation of leaders, people like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and many more. One and all, though they often differed markedly in political perspective, they were committed to freedom’s basic values: liberty of body, mind, and soul, freedom of worship and speech, respect for human dignity, protection of life, rule of law, freedom to work and property rights, justice.
These are not uniquely American or any nation’s values. These are human values. These values and the leaders to build upon them are what Tunisia and Egypt now desperately need.
Revolutions are by definition volatile, chaotic experiences requiring passion and risk to succeed. Consequently they’re vulnerable to misdirection or takeover that can produce a result different from the past but not in concert with the original revolution’s vision of a better tomorrow. Dictators, strongmen, or dominating religious leaders can suddenly seize control—think Iran, 1979, when the Shah left only to be replaced by Ayatollah Khomeini and his mullahs.
What the rest of the world and certainly what the citizens of Tunisia and Egypt do not want is to discover their drive for freedom has been side-tracked or co-opted. They don’t want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire.
So here’s hoping Tunisa, Egypt, and any other Middle East or African country considering free government can find or develop strong and effective “Founding Fathers,” or "Mothers," leaders wholly committed to freedom and wholly up to the task of making it happen.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011
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