Yesterday was the first caucus of the Republican nomination process and it of course took place in Iowa. There are topics of which I could discuss at this point. I could talk about how strange it is that such a small and unrepresentative state gets to "go first" and thus skew the process for all 49 other states. I could talk about how amazing it was that Gov. Romney won by 8 measly votes. I could talk about the caucus system itself and how grassrootsy and democratic it is...
But, I want to talk about all of the things in the world that got passed over by the mainstream media last night while there was a media storm all over the humble state of Iowa. I'm not trying to say that the Iowa caucus's weren't significant or news worthy, but I am saying that they were blown a bit out of proportion.
So, here I talk about things that the media virtually ignored last and have ignored lately in favor of the new hot Republican candidate of the hour.
1. Protests in Syria - The Arab Spring has gotten its fair share of media attention, from Libya to Egypt and beyond; however, Syria is and should be at the forefront of media attention right now. Here you have a dictatorship who is literally killing their people in the streets for protesting the Syrian government's long list of human rights violations. Should we focus on Des Moines or Damascus right now? I'd say Damascus. If the Syrian people can successfully rid themselves of their oppressors then a new "Arab World" and Middle East would be inevitable. I assure you that historians will talk much more about this in the future than the Iowa caucus of 2012.
2. South Sudan? - Welcome to the world South Sudan. This is the newest and youngest country in the world and thank God this is so. The horror that has been the southern region of Africa's formerly largest country is not new. South Sudanese are quite relieved due to the referendum they passed last year that gave independence to their people of this war-torn genocide stricken area of Africa.
3. Elections in Egypt - Elections are important, even in Iowa. But they are nowhere near as important as the ongoing elections in Egypt. Last year, as I hope you're aware, young Egyptians took to the streets in protest of the 40 year long dictatorial reign of Hosni Mubarak. Amazingly Mubarak eventually reluctantly resigned and left the government in the hands of the military. Over the past year the military has not been a whole lot better (or not at all) than Mubarak's dictatorship. Egyptians have been mobilizing again against the government and now elections. It seems that the Muslim Brotherhood (an Islamist party) is ahead in the Parliamentary elections and it remains to be seen what their policy will be in a "new" Egypt.
These are three of many international stories that I think are and will be more critically significant to this ever shrinking global village that we all now inhabit. We ought never to forget that what happens in the world very much affects us and that our current and next President's decisions and actions around the world will have a great impact on us and many people who have no vote in America. If we want to make educated decisions in our primary or caucus we better engage in the international issues and stories of the day. I wonder how many people who voted in the Iowa caucus could tell you anything about Syria, or the newest country in the world, or what Arab country is electing Parliamentarians.
