Is CNN reality?

This morning as I taught my 20th Century History class about the Russian Revolution, I thought about the current unrest in the Middle East a couple of times. I had shared with the class the model created by Crane Brinton in his Anatomy of a Revolution (some of these students have heard this in every course with me!) about how a revolution unfolds: while a tyrant holds sway, dialogue is often sought, and when that dialogue never happens, moderates seize control and events then get bigger and bigger. Disgruntled radicals then take control and…that is about 30% of the model. As we reminded ourselves of Brinton’s template, I said, “So far this template works exactly for what is going on in Egypt right now, less than an hour flight away.”

But then there was another moment, when I explained to them about the “pre-Revolution” to the big one in 1917, one that occurred in 1905. In 1905 there was an uprising in St. Petersburg, and after a kerfuffle the army came in and shot some of the protestors. Eventually Tsar Nicholas gave in a little bit, just a little bit, and most people thought the worst had faded away.

Then I was reminded in the fall of 1917, during “the big one” when the Bolsheviks staged their take-over, it always seemed interesting to me that while we think of it as a big deal today, it didn’t disrupt daily activities much. I remember one source saying that it didn’t even disrupt the daily movie schedule in St. Petersburg or Moscow.

Hmmm…

I have received several emails and calls in the last couple of days telling me of the scary headlines about “protests in Jordan,” and since the news has been covering the upheavals in Egypt quite carefully, I have had some worried family and friends about Jordan.

So I did a little investigating.

I visited Starbucks in Amman. No one was talking about any protests in Amman. Then I spent the evening at a family’s home (a lovely dinner indeed—the mother made Arab dishes and the father made Italian dishes—I ate enough for several meals, and both cuisines satisfied me immensely!). When I came into their home, CNN was on TV and they had been glued to the news all day about the news from Egypt. I asked them about the protests in Amman as reported by the New York Times. They swiped their hands, and said, “Oh nothing is going on. Everything is fine.” I pressed them about what the news agencies had reported and the concerns of my family and friends. It was so interesting how it hardly fazed them. Among the half dozen adults there, no one was the least bit worried about the so-called protests. One of the guests said, “You know that happens all the time after Friday Prayers. Several thousand men gather at the King Hussein Mosque and then after the prayers they are ready for a little protest march.” She then added, “Besides, the police offered them water and juice as refreshment, so there was no problem. Isn’t this just like your Tea Party demonstrations in the US? I mean, they just want lower prices.”

They were very interested in Egypt, but hardly at all concerned about what had happened a kilometer or two away…hmmmm…

Today I grabbed the newspaper about 8:00 a.m. and looked through it and there was nothing about protests in Jordan. There was plenty about Egypt, but maybe the news is a little censored here, I don’t know. But none of the teachers coming in from Amman talked about it, neither Jordanians or Americans who live in Amman. Everyone talked about the constant rain today—the beginning of the rainy season, I suppose.

I asked at lunch about it, and again, it seemed to inspire only aloofness and practically disinterest. One colleague reminded me that many Egyptians were swarming into Jordan to escape the troubles in Cairo, and one colleague was glad we weren’t a school in Cairo trying to recruit teachers. One student told me that his family was glued to the TV set all weekend since they do not like Egyptian President Mubarak at all, and he didn’t know anyone who did.

Finally, I looked into my email inbox and saw no warning from the U.S. Embassy in Amman. Usually, they have sent out emails when people should be alerted about…well, all kinds of things. Nothing!

So for all of you watching the news and wondering and worrying about Jordan, I’ll tell you, I couldn’t scare up the least bit of story or interest! The newspaper reported that no Jordanian had been reported injured in the protests and clashes in Egypt, and there was a long editorial about how Egypt, and President Mubarak especially, have missed many chances for economic reform over the years, and how stability and security go hand in hand.

There were stories of the celebrations for the King’s birthday here in Jordan.

But nary a story that matches the hoopla I see on CNN as they leave Egypt for a bit and mention the protests in Jordan.

So, I am fine, and as far as I can tell, CNN is making a mountain out of a molehill. That was actually a quotation from one of the important businessmen at the lovely dinner last night.