Monday, March 28, 2005
Over at NRO
Steven Vincent has an excellent article about some of the causes and ripple down effects of the Democratic agitation in the middle east. I think he underplays the influence of the internet, however, both in the middle-east and throughout the non-democratic world. Not to pat ourselves on the back or anything, but the blogosphere is as responsible as anyone else for the amount of attention both the Ukrainian and the Syrian incidents received. Much more fundamentally, the free flow of information across the internet is something completely alien to the environment of stifling religious-legal intermixing and strict state controlled media. Governments are powerless to silence it, although they definately try. Pro-democracy advertisements from the Iraq elections were even available online, an inspiring sight even here in the west. The impetus for change is already present, especially in the youth of these areas who are no longer content to live in a bubble of theocratic stagnation, and the availability of media and information are helping to catalyze the growing movements across the middle east region. All that is necessary now is the spark to ignite popular upheaval, and the hope that President Bush will stand by his pledge.
Comments:
So, glad to see you guys are back at it. Really missed your blog while you were away. I hope you had nice break from your studies and are now back to hit the books with full force.
I think you are exactly right. Bloggers should pat themselves on the back. I wonder how much of Syrian and Ukrainian strife would have been covered without the blogoshpere's pressure and influence
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I think you are exactly right. Bloggers should pat themselves on the back. I wonder how much of Syrian and Ukrainian strife would have been covered without the blogoshpere's pressure and influence
