As recently seen, citizens of the Arab world have begun to collect the ingredients to serve up the dish of democracy and in some cases, succeeding. With the recent ousting of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, it has become clear that democracy and reformed governments are wanted in the Arab world and that the time for them is now. Fighting for their freedom and basic human rights, many college students in Egypt had turned to sites like YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook in order to use modern technology as an advantageous tool to aid thousands in a battle that has been raging on for decades. With steady access to mass social media, more awareness of political corruption and government dishonesty is easier to surface, prompting a call for change in what so many have been used to for much of their lives. But because of the Middle East’s colored history of government corruption, America will fall short in its attempts to establish democracy upon people who have been accustomed to different historical occurrences and developmental situations. As my dad makes note of, the impracticality of the idea is quite simple: people do not like being bossed around, especially by invading foreigners who cannot relate to or comprehend why things are the way they are in the Middle East. This is why I believe that America’s effectiveness in instituting democracies in the Arab world is, and will continue to be, an unsuccessful endeavor due to the incompatibility of these conflicting societies.
The days when my family used to be able to visit my uncle were the days when I felt like a kid in a candy shop. All the women of the family would congregate out on the patio and all the men in the garden. I would be serving tea to my uncle and father when I would stumble upon discussions about their pasts as Iraqi civilians and how deep the Arab desire is to be living in a democratic country where they can be treated humanely by their governments. Setting down the cups of tea, I found myself gradually voicing my own opinions and interweaving my ideas with theirs. Ever since the terrorism hysteria had begun when I was old enough to comprehend current events, any opportunity to hear primary interpretations of Middle Eastern issues was strangely exciting to me. Taking this enthusiasm further, I have been able to develop my own ideas and come to similar conclusions as to why the people of the Middle East are the only ones in charge of their future, and not so much the American government. My father and uncle repeatedly bring up the idea that it is indeed right to help someone in need, but when it comes to dealing with reconstructing a foreign country’s political system and way of life, there needs to be a distinctive limit. America does not have the right or dexterity to successfully establish democracies in the Middle East; it is up to the citizens and people of the region to develop how and what they want done.
As an American, I recognize the value of living in a successful and beneficial democracy. As a daughter of an Iraqi immigrant, I can just as easily sympathize with the struggles of being oppressed by unjust governments. Even today, I have conversations with my father about the concept of Democracy being advanced in the Middle East. With the successes of the Egyptian riot making headlines every day, the topic is hardly avoidable. However what is not avoidable is the idea that Democracy has to be achieved and fought for by the people who strive for it, not by the desire of other nations to embed it. As America continues to progresses further into Middle Eastern affairs, I often reflect back to that fateful morning on September 11 when my perception of how people react to Arab issues began to change. Regardless of what future democratic endeavors the United States government tries to pursue in the coming years, I believe that as genuine as the intentions might be, the end result of trying to establish democracies in the Middle East will not be as successful as hoped.
