From The Hill, “Days before his troops overthrew the regime of Bashar Assad, Ahmad al-Sharaa declared that Syria deserves a system in which no ‘single ruler makes arbitrary decisions.’ Sharaa, once a feared jihadist and founder of al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, now vows to abandon vengeance and lead Syria’s reconstruction with moderation and inclusivity. But as interim president, he has seized control of every pillar of government, stacking sensitive posts with loyalists and family. This culminated in mid-March with the imposition of an interim constitution granting him executive, legislative and judicial authority for five years.”
Pick your cliche: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,” or “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!” The situation in Syria is hardly worth commenting on because in the Middle East, nothing changes, not even the Arab Spring changed much, as ultimately all those protests culminated in nothing — just a return to the tried and true dictatorial tendencies of the Islamic faith. No Islamic state in the Middle East is a democracy; they’re all some form of autocracy, so it is no surprise that Syria should trade one dictator for another one in the making. And guess what? The people love it! They really, genuinely do. They love to be lorded over; they just want there to be a peaceful dictator so long as they can all practice their sh*tty religion, which is based on oppressing everyone except the patriarch of the family. So whatever! I have no idea why people should be surprised that democracy is not taking root in Syria despite Sharaa’s “promises.” Dare I say that Syria may actually wind up being closer to a Caliphate than a secular state with a strongman at the head of the government. But, again, this is what the people want — to be ruled, not led. But I digress.
The reason I brought up the situation in Syria is that it’s, once again, yet another example of a global trend everyone in the MSM is refusing to address, and Americans at large are clueless to apprehend. That trend is this: Democracies across the globe are dying. Now, now! I can hear you complaining already: A budding dictatorship in a part of the Islamic world that has never had a democracy is no indication or has no bearing on the rest of the world backsliding; it’s merely the Middle East doing what the Middle East does best: Propagating uber-conservative religious states that limit people’s rights and freedoms. They’ve constantly been regressing. This is true. But it should call to our attention that what we see in the Middle East is not contained — near has been, I suppose. If anything, it should be a warning that nascent dictatorships are alive and well, and, indeed, sprouting up everywhere. As Syrians celebrate peace despite trading in one dictator for another, Americans should understand our apparent willingness to welcome the first dictator if it brings peace to the economy — turmoil that Dictator Don brought on himself. But that’s the whole point. Welcome to stupid America!