Dinner, followed by democracy

It is difficult not to marvel at the outpouring of raw political emotion on the streets of Egypt. Acting on the wave of massive popular protest, the military has stripped the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi of his presidential duties, placing him under house arrest.

Egypt's democratic allies abroad, however, are now on the spot as they try to reconcile support for the will of the people and what appears to be a patently undemocratic regime change.

U.S. President Barack Obama, Morsi's most important Western ally, said he was "deeply concerned" over the military's actions. In the meantime, he is not demanding that Morsi be returned to power and is acknowledging the "legitimate grievances of the Egyptian people."

The need to "be concerned" is understandable, considering the combustible reality of the situation on the ground. However, the U.S. needs to be unequivocal in its support for the Egyptian people and their claim that the Morsi government had lost its legitimacy, regardless of the fact that it was democratically elected. Anything less would send a dangerous message to the region.

In just one year the Muslim Brotherhood has managed to alienate a vast portion of the population by hijacking the constitution, attempting to hijack the judiciary, reneging on promises, forgoing minimal transparency, and above all, being non-inclusive.

The Egyptian people are lacking food and personal security. There is rampant unemployment and crime, the police force is ineffective, parliament has been disbanded and the economy is in a shambles. This is the actual situation. American historian and rights activist the late Howard Zinn said: "Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it." While the democratic virtues of going "beyond the law" can be debated, it is painfully clear that other factors are more essential.

On the most primal level, the need for personal safety and sustenance supersedes the need to abide by traditional democratic processes. Democracy is not a natural condition, but a political construct entirely dependent on the degree to which these most basic human needs are first met. Much as a parent will steal food for his hungry child, that same parent will break the laws of democracy if he has no other choice. When a government forces this dilemma on its people it has essentially forfeited its legitimacy.

This is something that the U.S. and Europe need to make crystal clear, so that any future government knows it cannot expect international support if it blatantly shirks its most basic obligations. In supporting the Egyptian people and their claims, the U.S. will help ensure that any fledgling democratic government in the region will focus on and invest more in creating a functioning, flourishing economy, and put less into instigating conflict, including with Israel.

The alternative would open the door for oppressive regimes to continue using elections as an efficient tool for grabbing power, with no intention of relinquishing it.

Egyptians should be commended, at least for now. They are reminding us that in a democracy the government works for the people and not vice versa. It is a lesson that leaders of old and new democracies alike would be wise to remember.