SALT LAKE CITY -- As Utahns watched the dramatic drive for democracy and freedom in Egypt unfold on television, many questioned just how much this revolution means to America.

For many, watching a people's revolution play out in the Middle East seemed too remote an issue to apply to them. Many reactions were detached, with a feeling of being removed from the movement.

"If it happens here, it happens here," said Utahn Roger Tischner. "If it happens somewhere else, kinda need to let them manage their own affairs."

But while many people can identify with the Egyptians' struggle and their thirst for freedom, it's not always easy to see why it matters to our country.

"It's a big deal for the entire world," said Rachel Ball. "But as far as my day to day life, I'm probably not going to think that much about it."

So as Egyptians tasted freedom, Americans searched for meaningful connections.

Ibrahim Karawan is an Egyptian native. The former director of the University of Utah's Middle East Center and professor of political science says this revolution matters plenty to America and the rest of the world.

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One Egyptian kissed the ground. Another rolled in ecstasy in the grass outside a presidential palace. People wept, jumped, screamed and hugged each other with a shared joy they had never known. Cairo erupted in a cacophony of celebration: fireworks and car horns and gunshots in the air.

"Egypt is influential on a regional level," says Karawan. "What happens in Egypt has implications for the region as a whole."

In addition to impacting regional stability, Karawan says, it affects America's relationships to other Middle East allies as well as the War on Terror.

"The cause of peace in the Middle East depends, to a large extent, on Egypt's policies," he says. "For that reason, Americans would be justified in paying much attention to what's happening in Egypt."

America gives Egypt around $2 billion a year in economic and military aid. That investment in an ally is important, and the United States wants Egypt to be an ally with a true democracy.

This televised revolution also shows the power of the people when they unite online through social media. It matters because it demonstrates the powerful potential of online political mobilization for people in other countries.

"This is a big event," said Karawan, "and we are fortunate to have witnessed it."

Karawan says this revolution will make rulers in the Arab world nervous, but it may also serve as a spark for the people in several of those countries.

E-mail: jboal@ksl.com

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