February 24, 2011Raynard JacksonThe media in general and the American media in particular continue to bring shame to what’s left of the profession once called journalism. They have long ago conceded the principles of objectivity and reporting strictly “the facts.” They seem more interested in becoming a celebrity or injecting themselves into the story, rather than reporting the story.The media does a grave injustice to their profession by attempting to give overly simplistic coverage to what are extremely complicated foreign policy issues.The upheaval that is going on in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, etc., has nothing to do with democracy. For the media to report such is totally irresponsible. Such reporting presupposes a universal definition of the meaning of democracy.The people of Iraq voted for a theocracy. Can a theocracy be a democracy? What happens if the people of Egypt vote in a member of the Muslim Brotherhood as president? Is that a democracy?The American media never goes deeper into the complexity of international issues. This is one of the major reasons why Americans, especially students, rank at the bottom of most things dealing with international issues.American journalists stupidly called the uprising in Tunisia the facebook revolution. It had absolutely nothing to do with facebook or any other single thing; it was a combination of things all happening simultaneously.If there was one single factor that could have been the trigger that set all this in motion, it would have to be age. Some refer to this as the “youth bulge.” The average age in Tunisia is 29 and in Egypt, 24. But, yet the age of their two former leaders were 74 and 82 respectively.The populations in these countries are very literate and very tech savvy. Most of these people have never seen a typewriter or a land line telephone; but they might have satellite TV at home and a mobile phone with internet connection. They are global citizens, though they have never left their own soil.The thirst for freedom, not democracy (whatever that means), is the driving force behind this unrest. The older population has accepted their lives as it is—that’s all they know. But, the youth have envisioned that better life and nothing will stop them from getting it.What is transpiring in Northern Africa and the Middle East, will be visiting sub-Saharan Africa by the fall. Before cell phones and the internet, people in developing countries could only read about the American dream. But, now, through technology, they can see, hear, and live it in real time.Technology is the water that nourished the seeds that were planted in these people from childhood. Go to school, go to university, they were told and your country will give you a better life. Well, millions have done this, only to find their dreams turning into a nightmare. They can’t find a job in their own country. They can’t get a visa to go to the U.S. or the U.K. So, when you go to a developing country and eat at the hotel restaurant; don’t be surprised that the person that is serving you has a master’s degree in business or engineering.They have lost hope, so there is no fear of death. They have nothing to lose, so they take to the street with the thinking that it can only get better. The blood of a few, is the seed corn for the liberation of the many.Sub-Saharan African has a population of over 800 million people, with over half being under 18 years of age. This is a huge growth market for our future exports. This is why we tolerate despots around the world. We will tolerate Obiang in Equatorial Guinea (because of their oil), Mubarak in Egypt (he was a critical ally in the war on terror), etc.I would argue that over the next 25 years, sub-Saharan African is going to be more vital to the U.S.’s national security than either China, India, Saudi Arabia, or even Israel.But, the media tries to cover these complicated stories in sound bites, even on their websites. Part of the responsibility of a journalist is to educate their audience. For their profession not to do so, I find a foreign policy.Raynard Jackson is president & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C.-public relations/government affairs firm. He is also a contributing editor for ExcellStyle Magazine (www.excellstyle.com) & U.S. Africa Magazine (www.usafricaonline.com).
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