For millennia, the Middle East has been a complex region, home to both great civilizations and to wars, poverty and disintegrating societies.
Egypt has just experienced a revolutionary uprising. Israel long has been threatened by its neighbors. Iran and Iraq have been involved in multiple wars. Even little Bahrain, Yemen and other small countries in the region have suffered from, and been contributors to, unrest.
In short, the Middle East is rife with revolution, aggression, radicalism, poverty and trouble-making. In the past it had some soaring examples of amazing cultures and accomplishments. But those are hard to find now.
Protesters readily take to the streets of the cities, deploring what they do not like but often being notably unable to create the better conditions that many of the people desire.
As tens of thousands of people in a number of countries march in those protests and make demands of their often repressive governments, there is no guarantee that the demonstrations will result in advancement, rather than disaster, for their societies. Egypt, for instance, may fall to radical Muslim rule.
Unfortunately, what happens in the countries ranging from North Africa to India is of vital interest to us, because it can spawn terrorism or disrupt oil supplies, affecting us in the West. So even though the Middle East is far from us geographically, it is in many ways "too close."
We may be sympathetic toward the people of that area, but we cannot solve their troubles. We can, however, be dragged into those troubles by the actions of their leaders and the embittered factions that have long permeated that part of the world.