As quoted from Al Jazeera:

Democracy does not land from Mars. Without exception, democracy is constructed locally. Recent and past lessons from the wider Middle East affirm that democracy does not easily travel from the West to the rest.

It seems to me that our democracy from Mars is not working in Iraq. I read where the government has closed down the opposition headquarters, this is not a government that tolerates dissent and free speech. I am dubious about democracy flourishing in Egypt – there really doesn't seem to be anything in the wings now that Mubarak is gone. I hope it works: it would be thrilling. But Libya; ah! Libya.

If the revolutionaries in Libya win – and they might not – and especially, if they win after a rough fight; I think that they have a shot at really getting democracy.

Democracy is constructed locally, but so is revolution. Of the two, democracy – real democracy, with a free press and freedom of dissent is harder. I am not saying it is easy to have a revolution , it seems almost impossibly hard and dangerous;

but democracy is almost impossible. Among other things, democracy requires leadership. Imagine South Africa without Mandela.

As the civil war in Libya goes on, leadership will have to emerge for the revolutionaries to win. After they win – and they might not, although the chances are better now that France has recognized the new government as legitimate – they will have home grown leaders. If those leaders are more like George Washington than Nouri al-Maliki, there is a chance there will be democracy in the Arab world. 

Last Saturday, Michele and I volunteered a couple of hours at the San Francisco Orchid Show. Or, more accurately, I volunteered us both to help man -person? people? – the Succulent and Cactus Society booth at the 59th Annual Pacific Orchid Exposition – Show and Sale at the Fort Mason Center in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. 

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a federally run urban park made out of an old Army base. This is not the sort of thing that a private party would ever do. In a gross over generalization, I would say that the private sector is great at innovation, at solving problems, at seeing opportunities, but the private sector really sucks at providing for the public good. If this land had been sold to the highest bidder, it would not be a green area at the edge of San Francisco, but the rows of houses would just continue to the water. 

So, because of the Federal Government turned the land into an urban National Park, I am able to go to a plant show in a huge building that was originally built to load Soldiers and Marines onto ships to be sent to war against the Japanese. There are three buildings and each is a huge open space with giant garage doors lining each side wall and, now, they are a public resource. It makes me proud to be an American and very happy that I live near by. As an aside, what an unhappy and scary experience that must have been: taking a train from a training facility to a giant warehouse; waiting and waiting until it is time to get on a ship – say the West Point AP23 with 7,978 other "passengers" – expecting that, when you get off the ship, it would be to land on some previously unknown Pacific island killing ground. End aside.

Now the open space is filled with orchids and people admiring the orchids, and music and enjoyment. In a slightly ironic twist – a large portion of the admirers are Asian, or gay, or Asian and gay. Maybe that is why the Republicans are so anti-government; Orchid People just aren't their demographic.

All pictures taken by Michele with her iPhone (after I forgot my camera.)

  Lancia was once one of the world's great auto makers.  It seemed genetically incapable of producing an uninteresting car.Its early 50's bread and butter sedan, for example, was the Aurelia – all Lancias were named after Roman roads – it had a front engine V-6 engine, a rear mounted 4 speed trans-axle with inboard brakes, all independent suspension. It was an aluminium and steel bodied wonder. The 2 seater convertable was even better. It could run all day long at 100 mph when most cars couldn't get to a hundred.

 I have owned several Lancias and each one was an idiosyncratic charmer. Like the Fulvia with a 1600 cc V-4, front wheel drive, and an aluminum body by Zagato.

Now Lancia is just a rebadged Chrysler. It may be a good car, even a great car, but it is not a Lancia.

These are interesting and exciting times. Watching – from a very safe distance – people take to the streets to fight for their freedom is both exciting and scary. The air is thick with possibility and – for me, at least – real democracy in the middle east seems possible. So does a crushing by an entrenched establishment.

In Bahrain, the Formula One race has been cancelled by the government. "Government" mean the "crown prince"  in Bahrain. But he did the right thing and the opportunity for real reform seems possible. Not so much so in Libya and – even – Egypt. One of the things dictators usually do so well is stopping any alternative governmental organisations from forming.

So, in Egypt and Tunisia, people will have to dig their way out of the rubble and form a government out of nothing. Hoping the army doesn't step into the void, hoping the cronies don't keep control and out last the people, hoping the Islamists don't take over. Right now, it all seems so possible, but as Donald Rumsfeld said, "Stuff happens." 

According to the countdown clock on the Planet F1 website the first race of the season will be in Bahrain in 22 days and some change. I am not so sure that is going to happen. But, more importantly – for me – I don't think it should happen. I think that F1 should blow town.

I want to be very clear that – a couple of weeks ago – I knew almost nothing about Bahrain except that it would host the first Formula One race of the season. Now I know that it is a kingdom with a Sunni king who is willing to kill people from its – primarily – Shite population to maintain order. Of course, maintain order really means keep the king in power.

If the powers that be decide to run the race, I'll probably watch it. But it does make me wonder about how much we are willing to do to walk our talk. In Egypt, in Bahrain, people are willing to die to walk their talk. That is hard to understand. I think that most of us, OK, many of us; think we would be at the public square, protesting. But I doubt it.

Michele and I went through a war zone on our honeymoon.  But – and this is important – we thought it would be safe. And we were right, it was safe. American journalists went to Egypt to report, thinking it would be safe and they were wrong; it wasn't safe. Many left. But the Egyptians and Bahrainis who went into the public square didn't leave. When thugs beat people, killed some, they didn't leave. I find that extraordinary.

If what they are doing, fails; they will -probably – have ruined their lives. It is hard for me to even imagine that level of commitment. Back in the good ol' USA, as the cold rain falls outside and I sit in my warm home; I wish them well. I hope they succeed. They are true freedom fighters and they deserve it.