Recent events in Egypt offer a sober lesson to Westerners who think the uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak resembles the American Revolution. Much of the television commentary revealed complete ignorance about the history of the region and of Egypt and especially the clear and present danger of a theocratic coup by the Muslim Brotherhood.

First prize for those who are clueless about what is transpiring before their blind eyes goes to James Clapper, director of national intelligence (though the runner-up prize goes to a TV commentator who compared demonstrators in Tahrir Square to America’s Tea Party movement.)