Politics and Hunger

There is no denying it—it is a political world. In one way or another politics plays a role in the way the world turns- for better or worse. Perhaps a reason for that is the power and strength of political ideologies. After all, how could terrorism exist if people were not ready to act on their ideology? How would the great revolutions and reforms have occurred if people did not value their ideologies more than their own lives? Much of human history can be measured in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of competing political ideologies. All the “isms,” all the passionate causes, all the fanatic behavior this world has witnessed have had some kind of underlying “political” motivation. Yes, even religion, has its own version of politics.


With that statement in mind, let me address the unrest sweeping through the Arab world. Many commentators have spent much time and much ink analyzing these events. We have watched country after country has its own “day of rage.” We have held our breath through it all waiting to see what these “revolutions” will create. That is well and good, these vents are important and we should be watching them. I find one fault with most reporting. Commentators are busy talking about the desire for democracy, the desire for freedom, and the desire for new governments. These “talking-heads” want to convince us the entire Middle East had a mass revelation that democracy is better than tyranny. If that is true I applaud the collective Arab mind. I think, however, there is another explanation that we could offer- one that makes just as much sense and has even more frightening implications.

I believe the basic “ism” behind much of what we see can be called “hungerism”- it is a very strong ideology. You believe in it with all your soul when your stomach is empty. If America has learned any lessons from all the news it should be this- our image of Arab countries is a façade. Close your eyes and you see them- those rich sheiks in their flowing white garments. Those petro-dollars they carry around to buy their private planes, they way they love to rent entire hotels for their vacations. (Or maybe they just buy the hotel.) This image is a lie. The real picture of Arab countries is this- millions of people who live on pennies a day in a society that has more unemployed than employed, a society in which the biggest employer for the lucky few is most likely to be the police or military.

This is the reality behind the revolutionary spirit of democracy. It is the strongest ideology of them all. It must leave us asking one thing: who will deliver the goods? The guy who can deliver the bread first will be in charge! That is the scariest reality of them all.