Thoughts on Syria, Assad's Exit And...
...The Lessons We Should Heed
Syria is among an historical panoply of cultures, republics, societies whose governments have experienced moral and social regression. Most have had many more than our mere few hundred years here to brandish these lessons.
If we here were to responsibly heed history and compare facets of the process by which authoritarianism becomes established and entrenched, we might see clearly that all the proverbial boxes of that comparable agenda are presently checked here.
A perfunctory glance at discernible patterns within other past occurrences would yield inarguable if not irrefutable statistics:
Historically, authoritarian rule enjoys an average lifespan of 20 years. It is not voted out. It is often not legitimately voted in. It is only deposed by that desperately embittered society which--once reaching such a critical point-- has nothing left to lose nor fear nor discourage the explosive animation of its desperate outrage.
Hysterically, marauders were led to believe that January 6 was their such moment of mobilization. It was (and still is) mere rage kabuki. Upending a truly tyrannical regime is much more cruel, complicated and profound although—once in motion—every bit as primally driven. Once blind fealty gives way to disenchantment within the ranks of once loyal and obedient mental and physical enforcers, the undermining will have begun. But at this point of the process here, it appears to be in the initial stages of such a horrific fraying of civilized social order’s fabric. How long must it be until the vast majority of our society is truly and abjectly offended? The list of oppositional response options will grow ever shorter for as long as the strongmen are in power. Our power as consumers (yes, we have it) will also lose teeth as our economy fails. We’ve already shown our willingness to ride the convenience and gratification train until it shudders, but how much track is left?
Once a neglectfully open door allows the authoritarian beast to cross the threshold (in Syria it was the al-Assad regimes, 20 years each…wow), that door is slammed rudely and unabashedly in the face of a mislead citizenry.
Bashar, in an act of self-preserving exodus, heeded the hideous examples of the downfalls of other strongmen: Romania’s Ceauśescu (his last exit contingency was ultimately foiled by failed communications while ambling suspiciously on an airport tarmac is an iron sealed personnel vehicle), Libya’s Gaddafi, Iraq’s Hussein and Hitler (who chose suicide over meeting a more eviscerating fate). It takes a while for state barbarism to reach such an untenable state.
As aforementioned: roughly 20 or so years.
We should look and learn. Now. And do everything plausible to prevent this from happening here.
