Fine Lines

.
You know, there are some very fine lines everywhere I look.

A fine line between the thrill of winning an Olympic event and placing second. A fine line between a controlled nuclear fission designed to generate heat to power a steam turbine, and a nuclear bomb that will incinerate a city. A fine line between war and peace. A fine line between having a glass of wine, and driving drunk. A fine line between paying your bills, and becoming bankrupt. A fine line between a dictatorship and a democracy.

And as the Egyptian president said before his fall from power; a fine line between freedom and chaos. Think about that for a moment. . .

In America, in our culture, there is a fine line between a demonstration (protest) and a riot. Demonstrations, if properly permitted are legal. But when they grow in intensity to where they infringe on someone else's toes (usually the government's) , they become a riot. And rioting is illegal.

A demonstrator who hurls a rock at a cop, loots a residence or sets a building on fire elevates himself into a rioter. As we've seen before, rioters get shot, looters get arrested, and arsonists are locked away for eternity; even in America!

So if you are applauding what the Egyptian people did, and encourage the peoples of all countries led by harsh dictators to do the same, be prepared to see their defeat in the streets. What happened in Egypt (a relatively peaceful revolution) is no more likely to happen in Iran, Cuba, or even in America.

Being one toke over the line has serious consequences, even in America.
.