At least one hundred and seventy-eight people died in a series of coordinated bombings yesterday in Kano, Nigeria. The group, Boko Haram, a cadre of Islamic extremists fighting the Nigerian government, claimed responsibility for the blasts. Elsewhere, in the northern part of Syria near the Turkish border, a bus explosion killed fourteen and wounded twenty-six. Both the Syrian government and those rebels in the north opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime have blamed the other for the explosion, but none of that really matters to the folks who died. Dead is dead!
Meanwhile, we Americans are transfixed on the outcome of South Carolina's Republican primary. The political resurgence of a serial philanderer is exponentially more fascinating than murder and mayhem in places far from America's collective conscience. Talk of sexual dalliances and open marriages trump open diplomacy, hands down! Would we want it any other way? I guess not.
Seismic events are occurring world-wide as we speak. Egypt just held its first truly democratic election in decades. Has anybody noticed that this Muslim country in the Middle East has taken a giant step forward by promoting individual rights while a country that is our friend – Isreal, is moving backward by restricting them? Is that registering on America's radar screen?
The anti-western Muslim Brotherhood party garnered 47% of Egypt's parliamentary seats in yesterday's election. The Al-Nour Party, an Islamic party that makes the Muslim Brotherhood look like a band of moderates, secured a second-place finish with 25 percent of the vote. Secular parties managed only one-quarter of the Egyptian vote. Do we know what that means for America? Do we care to know? Apparently not! Americans are so engrossed in the political war within our nation that we're becoming complacent over the war of ideas outside. It's no wonder ignorance abounds in America these days – sex sells! Ideals don't!
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