I was listening to the radio this morning and heard an accented recorder talking about life in Syria. This person was recording under an assumed name because of the fear of reprisal and danger to her family.
One of the things that she commented about was how most of the people living in Damascus, the capital of Syria, are in the middle to upper middle class economically. And what she said was that it is not common for them to want to upset the apple cart; they really do not want to see a lot of change because life is okay for them. They're not necessarily opulent, not necessarily doing excellent, but they're doing well enough to say that they are not willing to take a chance on a whole lot of change.
She also said that while it is relatively easy to get people who are disadvantaged involved in an opposition, it is often very difficult to get average middle class people occupied in a conversation about reform because it has turned steadfastly into either pro or con. Meaning, in her words, there is no voice of moderation that is neither all for or all against, which drowns out where most people are: in the middle.
Listening to that story, I just wondered how much like the United States that sounded. In a meeting this morning, a client reminded me that 40% of Americans are receiving some form of food stamp program. I wonder just how much we are like the Syrians in that way.
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