Better the Devil You Know Than Democracy?

A Play

Act One:

Mount Vernon, Virginia, Spring, 1776

George Washington receives Benedict Arnold at his home:

Arnold: You know, George, if you persist down this path, you're going to rupture the delicate stability the British army have brought to the colonies. Just think what might happen if they're not in control. The French might make a land grab from the North and South, the Indians might sneak in and try to regain territories, even the slaves might take advantage of the chaos and rise up against us.

More importantly, just think of what a conflict could do to your crops this fall! All those soldiers trampling through your fields. It will take you years to restore them and recover your investment.

It's just too risky.

OK, so I'm no playwright, but flash forward with me to the current the United States and witness how many Benedict Arnold-type arguments we hear in response to the protests in Egypt.

From Fox News:

[M]any fear that if Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak goes, the real replacement will be either the Muslim Brotherhood itself, or an Islamic fundamentalist group. El Baradei insisted on Sunday talk shows that the fear was unwarranted.

“This is total bogus that the Muslim Brotherhood are religiously conservative,” El Baradei told ABC’s “This Week.” “They are no way extremists. They are no way using violence.”

But critics point out that the Brotherhood, which was established in Egypt in the 1920's, is synonymous with political Islam which supports the use of Islamic law known as Sharia.

“Right now the Arab Republic of Egypt does not impose Islamic law in its fullness,” Rob Spencer, the head of Jihad Watch told FOX News. “The Muslim Brotherhood wants to change that.”

From Davos:

The head of the OECD said he feared the impact of the ongoing instability in Egypt.

"Anything that threatens development is a concern for us," says Angel Gurria.

"Anything?" Even if what threatens development is a genuine call for Democracy?

Yes the overthrow of an oppressive government can be messy and even deadly. But consider what else it can be.

From Kristof:

When I lived in Cairo many years ago studying Arabic, Tahrir Square, also called Liberation Square, always frankly carried a hint of menace. It was cacophonous and dirty, full of crazed motorists in dilapidated cars. That was way back at a time when the then-new Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, talked a good game about introducing democracy.

Now the manic drivers are gone, replaced by cheering throngs waving banners clamoring for the democracy they never got — and by volunteers who scrupulously pick up litter, establish order and hand out drinks and food.

“I’m going home right now to get food and drinks for the demonstrators,” one middle-age man, Waheed Hussein, told me as he hopped into his car near Tahrir Square shortly after curfew fell. While talking to me, he allowed a hitchhiker to jump in, and then the hitchhiker decided to bring back supplies as well. With great pride, the two new friends explained to me that this would be their contribution to the birth of an authentic Egyptian democracy.

In short, Tahrir Square has lost its menace and suddenly become the most exhilarating place in the world.

True believers in Democracy, as we in the US claim to be, could never support stability over freedom. Actually, any sensible person understands that it's a false choice anyway. As Benjamin Franklin noted "Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.” You only postpone the inevitable violence, and right now what's happening in Egypt is much less violent than a lot of revolutions of late.

I understand the role Egypt has played in bringing calm to the Middle East and I understand that should President Mubarak survive the protests and remain in power that our calling for him to step down will not endear him to us. But the rationale for supporting the protesters' demands is sound. It's supposedly what we're all about. Obama has held off long enough. Yes, as the fictional Benedict Arnold argues in my melodrama, all this is risky, but it's still the right choice. Obama should call for Mubarak to resign.