You really can’t make this stuff up, and even if somebody did, they’d probably cast Charlie Sheen in the part of Mohamed Bouazizi, and unless he, (fine method actor that he is), really set himself on fire, (show of hands?), it would never live up to the real events unfolding minute-by-minute on CNN.

However, a disturbing irony hangs over the real life drama playing out in the Middle East. The brave marchers in Tunis, Egypt, Bahrain, Algeria, Yemen, Libya and Iran are exercising their most innate desire for freedom against terrible odds and we, the ‘beacon of freedom’ in the modern world, accept little responsibility for our support of the tyrants who have withheld that precious commodity. I am not a proponent of policing or bullying other nations into adopting our ideologies, but surely, any support or comfort for tyranny in the name of global stability, (aka “please, please give us your oil”), should never be US policy. Most of the people in these oppressive regimes just want to be like us, or at least the us we advertise around the world. And yet, time after time, for too many wrong reasons, we support the most dastardly of villains with little or no regard for the millions of hopeless faces under their thumbs. Now, endless waves of these faces have taken to the streets to demand their right to something better and our response is sadly lacking.

For instance…Muammar Gaddafi is a murderer and all-round nut job. He is complicit in the terrorist attack that blew up Pan Am Flight 103, the killing of millions of his own people, declaring war on Kuwait, (anyone remember that Desert Storm was not just a movie?), and then he suddenly became our good buddy by agreeing to dismantle his WMD. We have maintained diplomatic relations with this heinous fuck wad, Hilary has publicly sucked up to him on several occasions and Beyonce, among other celebrities, has entertained at his lavish parties. Even now, as his power is slipping away, while he continues to mow down those that would oppose him, we haven’t had the balls to stand up and denounce him with language any stronger than, “Gaddafi must go!”

This is a pivotal moment in world history, one that may never resurface for generations. We, the temporary masters of Planet Earth, can embrace this surge of freedom by SHOUTING our support, or we can sit cautiously by, waiting to see how it all pans out before betting on the strongest horse, (our State Department’s announced strategy). We can send a message that we believe that the freedom of all men is as precious to us as our own or, by our silence, that we simply don’t care.

Perhaps, as we chip away at our own freedoms in the name of economic responsibility or Homeland Security, or some cockamamie Tea Party fantasy, we have become too preoccupied to engage in the struggle of others. Or, if you’re watching Fox News, I’ve just got it all wrong.