/revolt

Revolutions seem to be fashionable at the moment, and not just in Northern Africa and the Middle East. I'd say we're rather close to one here in the U.S., not quite as major as in Egypt, but revolution nonetheless. But before I dip into that, I want to comment on the craziness overseas.

I love this picture. What do I love about it? The fact that he's flashing a peace sign (or victory, but I prefer peace). I have to say that I'm proud of Egyptians. Standing up to tyranny is not easy task (just ask Libya), but they did it in a way that, I think, blew a lot of people minds. There was a little bit of violence (you can't hurt the handsome off of Anderson Cooper), but for the most part it was a big sit in. I know that the future will have to play out, and nothing is certain after a revolution, but the way it was handled by the protesters has to be applauded.

But...

I think a huge part of the success was because the military refused to turn on their people. If they hadn't, I think we'd be seeing similar scenes as to what is going on in Libya. And you never now what will happen when military leaders step in (both Mubarak and Gaddafi were military men).

Now, allow me to step back a bit.

There's a rather good photo essay that briefly goes over the history of major revolutions, and one point, to me, sticks out rather nicely. How do the people who come into power view themselves? In the U.S., there was plenty of bickering (and an eventual civil war) but, I would say, the transition from English Colony to the country we now has been pretty fluid (except, once again, The Civil War. "But there wasn't anything civil about it!" Shut up Virginia.). I'd say England shift to a Constitutional Monarchy was also not too shabby.

In contrast, in France (and Russia, and Cuba, etc.) the people who came into power still considered themselves revolutionaries! So what did they do? Kill anyone that wasn't one. In France, you had La Terror, and all the fun the Guillotine could handle (which, by the way, was used until 19770). Killing was also a favorite past time of Lenin and Stalin. In short, you don't want a "Revolutionary Government."

I my mind that is a more likely result in Libya, or maybe even something similar to the breakup of Yugoslavia, with different tribes breaking the country up.

So, all that said, what about revolutions going on right now...

Protesters taking over a capital building. Politicians leaving their states. If this isn't revolt, I don't know what is.