I admit it. When natural disasters, revolts, wars or terrorist attacks happen around the globe, I don't usually follow all of them wholeheartedly.
I've never been to Afghanistan or Haiti. I haven't spent time with the people, and as much as I wish I could give the world's problems my undivided attention, it's hard when I've never been to these places.
However, when North Africa erupted in protests, I felt differently.
After spending four weeks in Tunisia last summer with some of the kindest and most hospitable people I've ever met, their pain and eventual joy resonated with me.
I saw headlines that included cities I had visited, watched videos of protests in the streets where I had walked, and I finally saw photos of ousted President Ben Ali's posters with the purple backgrounds (I learned that purple is his favorite color while I was there) burning in trash bins.
Weeks later, I celebrated with Egyptian friends I've made in Auburn and in France. I have cried for Libya.
For decades, these people have lived under rulers who quietly "handled" problems through deceit and rigged elections and who lived extravagantly while their highly educated, hardworking citizens struggled to find jobs.
Speaking out against the government was prohibited, Internet activity was heavily monitored, and the media was censored.
Nothing about these governments was democratic.
For the first time, I saw a world issue through the eyes of the people who live there rather than through my American bias. I wasn't thinking about how this would affect U.S. foreign policy.
I wasn't thinking about how this would affect gas prices. For once, I wasn't thinking about my own prerogatives--I thought about theirs.
I've heard many people's fears of the effects of the unrest in North Africa, and sure--I have no idea what the ousting of some of our government's favorite dictators will mean for our economy, military prowess or politics in general, but I do know that I believe these people deserve democracy, as well.
Their peaceful revolutions have inspired countries all over the world to evaluate their governments and demand democratic reforms, and their hope for the future of their countries should inspire us to evaluate our own government.
During an interview for an article I wrote about local Egyptians protesting in Auburn, one of the men I met said Egyptians just wanted a democratic government like the U.S.
This made me think--we have the first amendment, and we often don't use it to its fullest potential, while these people are risking their lives simply demanding fundamental rights for their people.
They want the freedom we have, and we don't understand how lucky we are to have it.
When we see problems arising in our country, we need to do something about them with the many resources we've been provided.
We don't have to camp out in our nation's capitol and fear tear gas and bullets. We just have to write a letter, sign a petition or simply cast a vote.
Don't take your freedom for granted, and don't be selfish with that freedom.
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