Charlie Sheen's Destructive Spiral: A Microcosm of the World Spinning Chaotically Out of Control Elsewhere

As we watch the fires roar in far-flung corners of the globe (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, et. al.) those of us getting some of our news from television "live" are warily watching to see what will happen next. In some ways, the debacle of Charlie Sheen's self-destructive behavior seems like a microcosm of the unrest and chaos abroad in the land. Not to make light of revolutions, wherever they may occur, but there is considerably more heat than light, and the outcome is still unclear. Charlie could end up totally unemployable, or he could become the Flavor of the Week. Charlie claims that his "Michael J. Fox" clause makes it imperative that the network pay him for the 8 unproduced episodes and any future the show may have, but the network cries "Foul!" and says he failed to live up to his end of the bargain. Charlie might go to work for Mark Cuban, along with Dan Rather, after he was fired, or he might end up like Cory Haims. At this point, it's still too soon to tell, and it's going to be a long slog to find out who emerges victorious, despite Charlie's constant chant of "Winning!"

There's really only one sure winner, as Leslie H. Gelb wrote in a March 14, 2011 Newsweek article, and that is anyone who benefits from the sale or manufacturing of oil. I agree with this. Anyone who has been to the gas pump lately will also agree with this.

The basic premise of Gelb's essay was this: although dictators are being shed right and left (Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, possibly Gaddafi in Libya), there really is not much change in the power status quo...so far. Elections have been set for September in Tunisia, but, as Gelb put it, "To date, the revolutions have generated far more drama and hope than real change."

Critics of Obama want him to do more. Or less. The man is criticized for not speaking up more forcefully and more quickly in Egypt, or for not instantly instituting a "no fly" zone, which seems to what the rebels would like to have happen in Libya. He can't win for losing, and being the President of the United States in these trying times makes you wonder why anybody runs for the job.

Watching Ari Fleischer, Paul Begala and Wolf Blitzer debate a no-fly zone on CNN "Live" today (March 8, 2011, at 6 PM, ET), it was quite clear that there was no consensus amongst even these 3 purported "experts." I'll go out on a limb here and say that most of middle America thinks we've been fighting a tad too much, of late, and it's time to sheathe our swords and bring our young men home from hell-holes like Iraq and Afghanistan. (At least, most of those who know what little we've accomplished over there and at what cost in "blood and treasure," one of George W. Bush's favorite terms.)

Most of us back home in the United States are waiting for the other shoe to fall...and that probably includes the president, himself. Who will emerge to lead the nations that are undergoing revolutions? To hear Gelb tell it, it won't matter too much, as "Whatever happens, Washington will encounter greater anti-Americanism."

Does this surprise anyone? We've been waging 2 wars on 2 fronts for longer than any other war in American history. The month just past was one of the bloodiest months of any. Although Bush the Younger took us in to war, boldly going where angels fear to tread, most agree that Iraq and Afghanistan are quagmires that we need to get out of now. And fast. Nobody would be happier about us going home than the residents, it seems. Whenever we enter the fray...whether by instituting a no-fly zone or dropping food...we incur criticism for meddling in the affairs of these foreign nations. So, why not go home (as Obama has said the troops will, from Iraq, in July). To quote a Facebook friend (a soldier who shall remain nameless, since he's currently fighting in Afghanistan), "If anyone ever thought Afghanistan had any future or hope, they're retarded. This country is one giant pile of nothing. If this were SimCity, I'd reset and hit New Game. Ugh. How many days till we're done here, again?"

What have I learned today about the many uprisings and rebellions and chaos that fill the front pages and magazines and Facebook rants? What follows is a Good News/Bad News list:

Good news:

Turkey is the model to be emulated by Arab nations. Why? They have internal stability and a promising economy.

Bad news:

Turkey is now mostly anti-Israel.

More bad news: the rebels in Libya are not trained, have only a fraction of the weapons that Gaddafi has, and Gaddafi has no hesitation at firing on his own people. The war is more-at-less at a standstill with the lightly-armed anarchy of volunteers like Yahya Ali, a medical student, who wants his country back, but doesn't really know much about firing a weapon or following orders as to when to fire.

Paul Begala (on CNN "live") pointed out, however, those who want Obama to rush in where angels fear to tread and rescue the oppressed Libyan rebels with a no-fly zone, have no guarantee that that action would necessarily prevent Gaddafi from killing his own people, anyway. In Serbia, a no-fly zone was put into effect, but 8,372 Serbs were slaughtered despite the no-fly zone.

Good News: Libya's normal output of oil is only 1% of daily worldwide consumption.

Bad News: Prices at the pump will rise, anyway, especially if the fighting spreads to Bahrain and, after that, to Saudi, Arabia, where the despotic rulers with whom George W. Bush walked hand-in-hand in many photo ops will not hesitate to squash, with extreme prejudice, any rebels who are foolish enough to rise up against King Abdullah.

More bad news: the Saudi, Arabians view the United States as having thrown Egypt's Mubarak under the bus, so there might not be any photo ops with Obama (or anyone else) hand-in-hand with King Abdullah for a very long time.

And, the worst news of all: no matter who rises to power in all these countries now struggling against their evil emperors, all of us back here are going to see higher oil prices and, therefore, higher food prices.