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    The Revolution Generation

    Re "Why It's Different This Time" [Feb. 28]: What we have on our hands today is not only a revolution in Egypt but also the beginning of an era when a new medium finally proves to the world its equal and comparable importance to that of the printing press. Social media are no longer just how we stalk ex-girlfriends or update the world about where we bought our morning coffee. It fuels revolutions, just as pamphlets and articles inspired fed-up Americans in the 18th century.

    Tomash Devenishek, TORONTO

    It is difficult for Americans to imagine that the potential overthrow of the government of a remote, politically friendly country would have an effect on their own safety or security. But let's imagine one of these countries were adjacent to the U.S. Even though the imagined country is an oppressive autocracy, it is an ally. And let's assume that if that government were overthrown, the resulting democracy might be hostile to our interests. As a citizen, what position would you want our government to take?

    Richard McFadden Sr., PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA.

    I applaud Fareed Zakaria's article on the youth-led revolutions in the Middle East. The massive youth bulge in the region's population is telling: more dissatisfied youth, more discontent. However, the cultures of the Middle East have so suppressed women's ability to have a say in their own fertility. You reap what you sow, but at least women in these nations, through information technology, may improve their lot.

    Larry Little, ATLANTA

    As a child of the 1960s, I fancied it would be my generation that would change the world. If kids nowadays think they can overcome partisan and religious conflict, exploding populations, economic chaos and disappearing resources, then I wish them luck. They should keep in mind, though, that nirvana can be elusive.

    Brian O'Neil, EL CERRITO, CALIF.

    Zakaria's thoughtful analysis of the current revolution misses the mark big-time about the unique nature of the current mass movement in the Middle East. He forgets about the massive antisegregation and anti--Vietnam War movements in the U.S.; the Paris uprising of 1968; the antidictatorial movements in Spain, Portugal and Latin America; and the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in China. All of them were carried out by young revolutionaries. Some of them succeeded; some resulted in serious clampdowns or the establishment or strengthening of military regimes or competing militant terrorist groups. Every time, we said, This time (or this place) is different. And it wasn't.

    Claudio M. Loser, ROCKVILLE, MD.

    As Bobby Ghosh states ["Rage, Rap and Revolution," Feb. 28], "The revolution of the young generation in the Middle East is theirs and theirs alone." The clear lesson is that they did not need the hubris of outsiders to effect change--and certainly not the kind of deception and destruction perpetrated by Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush on Iraq. As Americans, we, of all people, should know the efficacy of a revolution grown from within.

    Tom Gibbs, TAYLORSVILLE, KY.

    Mitch Daniels in 2012?

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