Daily Times

The Tunisian wedding party had scarcely taken down their tents and scuttled back into the desert landscape in a similar manner as the stalwart Bedouin when the next political bride made her appearance. Egypt presented itself as new virgin territory. Plans were well into an advanced stage on the Sunday prior to the first groundswell of protest slated for Tuesday’s ‘Day of Wrath’ (January 28). It has been an amazing thing to watch, this explosion of human enthusiasm for a new political paradigm.

From my seat in the bleachers, the media has also exploded in a rather exploitive manner. The ‘good news’ for the media is the way in which ‘bad news’ of an unusual and unpredictable nature provides a mad dash to the journalism desk for everyone from scribe to mad scribbler. My own behaviour has resembled that of a squirrel running up the trunk of a tree in a dizzying manner to keep up with each new angle of news coming out of Egypt. Unfortunately, the media deluge can best be described as islands of thought in a sea of flotsam. Where is the citadel?

In examination of each morsel of news coming from Twitter, cell phone images and reports from Egypt, it seems best to fall back a bit and take a deep breath. When all is said and done, the scope of the protests in Egypt will facilitate change but also the proverbial law of unintended consequences will take hold and massive practical problems will face this distressed nation.

Within the chain of command structures, any aberrancy, lack of moral sense or outright rebellion is quickly dealt with and the process allows for castigation of the immediate individual or cadre of individuals involved. But accountability always casts the gaze upward. The chain of command is then combed to identify those ultimately responsible for accountability failures and lack of adherence to policy. The disciplinarian of the day becomes the disciplined and censured officer of the morrow.

The international community has the immediate responsibility to assist with a resolution for the situation in Egypt. But read my lips carefully: the ultimate responsibility for the situation in Egypt belongs with a man who has controlled the levers of his administration and government for three decades. Call to account the western powers, if you will. But the greatest accounting for the Egypt of the 21st century falls into the lap of President Hosni Mubarak and his administrative flank. The leg, tail and the eye are still moving. The system of governance, which functioned with a constitution rolled under the arm of an autocrat, is about to change. Will it change for the better?

Leadership is tough whether it be within the family unit or the corporate boardroom. Leadership that governs a nation in the right manner requires unbelievable resolve. It also requires a high level of personal integrity. Those who are the holders of responsible office are not paid to serve their self-interest.

It is extremely important, as Egypt moves into a transitional season towards more equitable governance, that a few key concepts be considered. First and foremost is a consideration of the portfolio of a new president and his cabinet. What are the business and administrative qualifications of the individuals under consideration? Those who govern must be men of action. They are men who consider expert opinion but then formulate the plan. Tahrir Square was filled with dreamers. Parliament must be filled with highly skilled men who are capable of taking apparitions of hope and developing tangible goods and services. Those with falsified curriculum vitae must find the door to leadership firmly locked.

The Egypt of the future must also consider whether the desire is to continue with a cumbersome and complex bureaucracy or move forward with an efficient administrative machine, which demands true productivity as the litmus test for job retention. Reasonable discussion should produce widely publicised new standards of governance. Everyone must know what to expect and what will be the consequences for lack of compliance to new administrative ethics. Clean and efficient government will be the best indicator of future stability for Egypt. The math never lies and the books reveal the truth.

My ears hear the same refrain. Muslims long for aspects of democracy that intersect with Islamic values: fairness, social and economic justice, honour of the family and healthy community. Sadly, these things cannot be attained on a national scale without a sense of deep repentance on the part of more than a few leaders.

To sort out the truth of a matter takes a considerable amount of time. Truth does not stand alone. If not married to love, the truth can be too bitter to swallow. So, should I find any truth, it remains incomplete unless the news is delivered with love and concern. Egypt and her neighbours need the disillusionment of truth right now. It seems preferable to the cloak of deception.

In speaking a few simple truths regarding Egypt, it seems good to fall back on a plainspoken analogy. I can tell a young lady that she made a mistake living with a man and getting pregnant out of wedlock. But I can only do so with a show of love and compassion. She now holds a future generation in her womb. It is my job to do all that is possible to protect her progeny from abortion.

Egypt was pregnant and out of wedlock in Tahrir Square. Who is the father? We do not know yet. But inside Egypt’s political womb is the destiny of their future generations. My personal belief is that the US must not induce an abortion but stand by to assist with a birth. That is the truth. But love compels me to say that Egypt must be very careful in the coming days. A spontaneous abortion of political process will be the result if a high leadership standard is not invoked to carry the nation into the second decade of the 21st century. This task falls squarely on the shoulders of the citizens.

The writer is a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy Reserves. She is a Nurse Corps officer who resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She has written articles and book reviews for the Marine Corps Gazette, and Op-Ed commentary for the Dallas Morning News