Optimism as Old as the Pharaohs

The football player Ben Roethlisberger is said to go out frequently to dine locally and not pay his bill. This became such a problem for restaurant owners that most banned him. Apparently he never caused a fuss, was not overserved and often was alone. He never argued; he just left. Certainly this was not because he was under economic pressure or that he habitually forgot. My bet is he thought it his due. Like the travelling kings of yore who would visit their vassals, the rich, the famous and the powerful assume their own type of "entitlement" where they live by different rules and deserve what we working stiffs do not. It should be our pleasure to serve them and that, in itself, is reward enough. So rock stars destroy hotels, producers seduce children and movie stars live as they live, all without consequences.

So why is anyone shocked at Mubarak's decision to stay in power? It is said he is "out of touch" with his people. Out of touch? A man who lives like a pharaoh? A man who takes what he want, who he wants, when he wants? A man who has been the absolute ruler of 85 million people for thirty years? Out of touch?

Mubarak's non-concession speech revealed only one thing: He is not a politician, he is a warlord. A politician would have made the optimistic and insincere platitudes sound believable. A politician would have made it sound that his continuation in office was exactly what everyone wanted. A politician has learned, as his popularity requirements for office is broader than just the military, to convince the public that his self serving and incompetent reign is just what the electorate needs.

In Iraq, under Hussein, the women would flee the streets when the ruler's sons appeared; the princes would take what they wanted.

Rather than being "in touch" with their "leaders", most people just want to be beyond their reach.