Last week when Egyptian protesters toppled the regime of dictator Hosni Mubarak, in power for 30 years, it was the proverbial “shot heard around the world” although no shots were actually fired.

The citizens of Egypt managed to do what many considered impossible in that part of the world — bring about change through peaceful means. When a citizen of the United States conjures images of the Middle East, they are most often scenes of terrorism and oppression. Indeed, it is the fundamental philosophy of terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda that change can only be brought about through violence. In just a couple of short weeks the citizenry of Egypt disproved this assertion.

So although the future of Egypt is still uncertain, and many in the U.S. feared the deposing of Mubarak, who was a political ally, the Egyptians by their actions have done more to discredit terrorism than the nearly 10-year-old “War on Terror.”

But Americans have other reasons to rejoice in the success of the Egyptian protest.

For one, their success has sparked other protests against oppressive regimes in the Middle East. Bahrain is the latest country to be rocked by protests, and others are following suit.

While on the surface such unrest may not seem to bode well for the U.S., those who worry are not seeing the bigger picture. True, any new government put in place has the potential to be unfriendly toward the U.S., but in truth there are many nations around the world with this philosophy. The true threat of the Middle East lies in the unrest of the general citizenry.

By taking control of their own destinies and putting some sort of democracy in place, the citizens of Egypt are creating an environment in which the potential for personal happiness exists. And happy people are peaceful people.

Although the situation in

the Middle East seems chaotic

and dangerous to the casual observer, it could ultimately have the effect of stabilizing a region that hasn’t seen stability in quite some time.