One of my favorite places in the world is in deep turmoil. On the outside, for the last thirty years there has been stability in Egypt. There has been a successful encouragement of tourism, moderate religious behavior, a beacon of peace in the region, and for the most part safety. Of course, however, we are not looking from the inside.

The people have begun to revolt in what seemed to come out of left field for most experts and pundits. Crowds began filling Tharir Square in a peaceful protest against the Mubarak regime, and until pro government protesters appeared there was little violence. All said, the protests have gone very well, and even the hard-line Muslim Brotherhood has been a very small part of the scene. What are they asking for? Democracy. And as Americans we always get behind people protesting for Democracy. We want people to have what we have, but the warning is out to both Egyptians and Americans. Our form of Democracy was hard won and is long standing, but is also part of our basic make-up. We have been well steeped in democracy for over 230 years, and we know the ropes in keeping democracy strong. But, let the warnings now be heard for both Egyptians and Americans. Beware of what you wish for…

Fighting for democracy is what we as Americans value almost above all else for the people of the rest of the world, and we stand beside you in your fight for self rule. What people too often forget, however, is history. The rocky road of democracy in the world is something we should not forget. We must remember how many theocracies, dictators, and otherwise frightening regimes were elected via democratic processes. The list is long.

Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany. Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe was elected democratically. Hugo Chavez of Venezuela was elected democratically. And we all know what happened in Iran after an overthrowing of the Shah by pro democracy protesters. Yes, democracy is a good thing, but only when it operates in a lateral fashion and not in a typical top down fashion as most do. The history books are full of oppressed people demanding democracy only to end up with a dictator destroying their lives and the country they love.

So the lesson here for Egypt is to tread lightly. We applaud your desire for democracy, but be careful not to put all your faith in a single person to lead you into utopia. Democracy is not easy. By its very nature it is subject to the dangers of “electing” the devious, power hungry, and self serving. Let us not forget Lord Acton’s prophetic words from 1887 “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” So do not walk away from the fight thinking you have won and the party can begin. NOW is when the real work begins or you will send your historic nation into the abyss.

The new film by Michael Moore, Capitalism, A Love Story, did not really say anything different from what I  have been talking about for many years now. While I am not necessarily always a fan of his tactics, he does have some very insightful things to say. Capitalism is failing.

For almost a year now we have been hearing Wall Street wail as loud as they can for help so we bailed them out despite the knowledge that they created the disaster themselves by virtue of unethical business practices and greed. The idea was such that pouring taxpayer money into badly managed, unethical, parasitic banking institutions would save the economy, our beloved free market system, and give them more money to loan. The trickle down theory of economics in practice, but it is not trickling down and never will. Therein lies obvious as well as less apparent problems.

By the very definition of capitalism and free market economy it is survival of the fittest. This is what Wall Street has been espousing far longer than I am alive.  But wait! Apparently that does not apply to Wall Street itself, and the rest of us never got the memo. If it did apply they would have insisted that inferior institutions be allowed to fall in order to make way for the stronger ones, but they didn’t. All of a sudden they had their hands out with fear mongering speeches decrying the end of America. The best part is that we the American public, and our government, all drank the Kool-Aid. We buy into fear. It unites us. It gets us to agree to things that we later scratch our collective heads in wonderment over. If the previous eight years can be pointed to as an example it is not surprising we find ourselves in a similar position today, and those that reap the rewards stand laughing.

Just a few days ago I ended up in a conversation with an otherwise intelligent man that begged me to understand that the United States financial system was hours away from “Armageddon.” Armageddon?! Does this not wreak of familiar pulpit driven tactics to control the masses from thoughts of upheaval? Of course, the moment he began spouting his vitriol I correctly guessed that he was an investment banker by trade.What was there to understand? Where is their free market, capitalist model now? I do not see small business being bailed out, and small business employs the bulk of Americans. Small businesses are failing at record rates because of the mess that Wall Street created.

I am not saying I disagree with a free market system, but left unchecked as it has been since WWII it is doomed to self destruct. The fact that our economy has been in free fall has not been remotely solved by the big bailout, but why? That is what they promised after all. The answer is simple. Our form of capitalism breeds greed. We can look back to Lord Acton’s famous quote; “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” This is why my recent debate opponent sees nothing wrong with the bailout or the huge sums being given out as bonuses to the very people that did a poor job to begin with. It is not that he is a “bad man” as Lord Acton would suggest, but he is employed by some. If the rest of us had driven our companies into the ground we would surely not be given bonuses.

This folks is capitalism, but it is not democracy. They are mutually exclusive from one another despite what we are too often told. It is not democracy it is plutocracy, which is the form of government rampant, unchecked capitalism is best suited for. By definition plutocracy is “government by the wealthy.” Sound familiar?