First Part of Three in New Series: Waves from Seaside: What We Must Learn from Egyptian Revolutionists

CHOICE: What YOU DO Shapes Actions by Others- IF YOU don't ACT, THEY will "Make your day" By What THEY DO.

(SEASIDE, Ore.) - Freedom to choose among political options open to all is the essence and operating heart of all true democracy. In recent days we've witnessed one of those extremely rare, deeply revealing revolutionary demonstrations of overwhelming populist choice by which the world has always been shaped.

These events, now already mirrored elsewhere in the MidEast, are reflecting in less than twenty days what has been brewing and distilling and fermenting ever since Carter's Presidency and Camp David --with its still/unfulfilled promise of "peace-and-progress for Israel and all others" in the MidEast.

It was the assassination of Anwar Sadat that brought Hosni Mubarak, his VP ---and longtime continuing tool of the Egyptian military-- to his thirty-year run as U.S.-supported Egyptian "strong man". It was only well into that run --established first to provide effective working/tool capability for U.S. policy in the Mideast-- that Mubarak moved gradually into what seems the inevitable role of every such "strongman" - flat/out dictatorial depreciation.

(Which calls to mind the undying FDR-line: "SO he's a dictatorial tyrant. But he is OUR dictatorial tyrant". (" Quote" knowingly-paraphrased...)

Do NOT be misled by too-ready, surface-skimmed pundit -palaver about the ascendance of democratic principle --including insistence on non/violent action this time vs Mubarak. For once the time was ripe for the great strength and widespread world impacts of that Enlightened approach --made even more significant by fact: All four of Egypt's Presidents have been from the military faction.

That "no violence, but determination until death" was uniquely possible right now in Egypt due to the coincidental and controlling concatenation of Mideast and world events -- this time with resounding clarity and overwhelming impacts made plainly visible to multi millions worldwide by the detailed and highly visible ongoing television coverage.

(Even in the U.S. , with far more reported worldwide than we got to see here; surely that's a cynical historical note in the face of rumor re source-force for the events-occurring.)

That special approach was planned and carried out by the revolutionary leaders, reassured no doubt by close reliance on early working contacts with Egyptian Army leadership.

But for us here-and-now in this new series, the strongest element was the highly evident and clearly impactful influence of the most-modern communication links widely credited with the success not only of the "Revolution" but of its most surprising and thus especially meaningful character of NON-violence: The cellphone with its ubiquitous rapid/ "texting" capabilities; and "Tweeting" as trusty-tool for revolutionists, too !!

Will we learn the invaluable lesson thus laid-on for all of us ? It is now not only possible, but comparatively easier and safer to set up such revolutionary affairs via these tools for talk and trustworthy follow-action even in only partially-served sites like Egypt.

In no way doth that diminish or deteriorate the most remarkable fact of the affair --the final fully-successful removal of Dictator Mubarak primarily by the massive motive-force of demanding millions of determined citizens.

For the first/ever/-time, the world was able to see and hear revolutionary realities at work at the very instant of happening: Each participant was so obviously solely and singly fed up with the final consequences from three decades of deepening dissatisfaction with details of average-life and the dreams of private personhood --abandoned under the duress of dictatorial power derived from democratic distortions.

That striking new development is now widely credited with the forbearance of the Egyptian Army, reflected in its determined refusal to force-fire on the very obviously friendly-and-seeking millions, mass/voting their choice right out in every city street.

What remains to be learned from the next six months --covering a continuing process of real democratization now promised by that same forbearing military milieu --is how realistic, pragmatic and progressive this promised rapid and open process will become, as demanded to prevail over the existing long-continued slow-withdrawal of what was once promised in Sadat's day, brought on by the U.S. "forceful leadership" at Camp David.

President Obama and many other leaders have characterized these events as remarkable evidence of a new --and, perhaps, "sweeping"-- wave of change in stagnating status quo/situations worldwide, echoing in every land and location many of the same denials highly evident in Egypt and across the Mideast.

Ireversions, reversals and "revisions", at least as democracy-threatening as anything encountered in the Mideast, are also surely even more evident every day in established democracies like ours, under attack from their own internal enemies.

In the next several parts of this new series, we will spotlight for Enlightened examination -- and responding informed dialog-- some so peculiarly painful they have come to the top of growing list surely suppurating for so many as to support a declaration by William Greider in the NATION edition of 2/21, p.8:

"Americans are learning from these events --another investigation, but not much happens afterward. This will sound far-fetched, I know, but this is a road that leads to Cairo: He referred to his own report re the massive money manipulations suffered by so many Americans --and millions of others worldwide-- via Wall Street 's long- continued defalcation and the spreading awareness of the denial of equal justice in our nation.

At 21, Henry Clay Ruark was Aroostook Editor for the Bangor, Maine DAILY NEWS, covering the upper 1/4 of the state. In the ‘40s, he was Staff Correspondent, then New England Wires Editor at United Press-Boston; later Editor for the Burlington, Vermont 3-daily group owned by Wm. Loeb, later notorious at Manchester, New Hampshire UNION LEADER for attacks on Democratic Presidential candidates.

Hank returned to Oregon to complete M. Ed. degree at OSU, went on to Indiana University for Ed.D. (abd) and special other course-work; was selected as first Information Director for NAVA in Washington, D.C.; helped write sections of NDEA, first Act to supply math, science, foreign language consultants to state depts. of education; joined Oregon Dept. of Education, where he served as NDEA administrator/Learning Media Consultant for ten years.

He joined Dr. Amo DeBernardis at PCC, helping establish, extend programs, facilities, Oregon/national public relations; moved to Chicago as Editor/Publisher of oldest educational-AV journal, reformed as AV GUIDE Magazine; then established and operated Learning Media Associates as general communications consultant group. Due to wife’s illness, he returned to Oregon in 1981, semi-retired, and has continued writing intermittently ever since, joining S-N in 2004. His Op Eds now total over 560 written since then.