Editor’s note: Nicholas Maduro is currently the interim president of Venezuela.
While Mississippi State University students were preparing for spring break, a dictator lost the fight with cancer. Just days before that, I had a great conversation with a good friend of mine on despotic dictators. Much of the conversation centered around Hugo Chavez, Muammar Gaddafi and the Arab Spring. The whole world has been in a malleable state for the past few years. We have seen huge political figures fall (Gaddafi, Jong-Il) or be restored (Putin, Chavez) and whole countries have been brought to their knees (Greece).
I couldn’t keep this off my mind during our last election. 
While our presidential election and subsequent other elections for government officials are important, the people of America still have an unprecedented amount of power.
We can vote, shoot guns, drive cars, run for election or get published in a newspaper.  All this to say there are some bastards out there, but it is a bad time to be a bastard.
In the past 10 years we have seen the fall of – by causes natural and extraordinary – Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden, Muammar Gaddafi, Kim Jong-Il and most recently, Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias. This, coupled with the Arab Spring and Pussy Riot protests, show a world not putting up with despotism.
Like I said, malleable.
We are seeing poor and oppressed parts of the world who are taking a stand for the freedom of their country. Now, it has not all ended well.
Two members of punk band Pussy Riot were jailed in Russia for something Americans take for granted as everyday free speech.
Egypt ousted one strongman to replace him with the highly restrictive Muslim Brotherhood. But where Russia has quieted down some, Egypt is still aflame.
While the Muslim brotherhood desperately tries to solidify its hold on the country, the people continue to show their distrust of the wildly biased government. 
The weekend of March 20-23 saw rioting in front of the Muslim Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo.
The Egyptians remain malleable and ready for change in a stable democratic government. The riot prompted Egyptian President and party leader Mohammed Morsi to order the arrest of certain “democratic activists” that are believed to be key inciters of the riot. The Arab Spring still has a way to go.
Among rumors of Chavez’s illness last year, Nicholas Maduro gained some national exposure by being named heir apparent to the Chavez regime and had some photos of him with the infamous Fidel Castro published in major news publications including The Wall Street Journal.
While many Venezuelans may have delusions about Chavez and how much he actually hurt the country of Venezuela and its people, it is clear that change is needed.
This has led to rumors of possible alternative political successors other than the Chavez pawn Maduro.
This gives the people hope.  Chavez won an election recently that many outside analysts believe was likely rigged.
Perhaps this will give the people a clean slate to an honest government as Maduro has many detractors even in the government and the multiple attempts at coup d’état on Chavez’s seat seem to point to a promising shift in power.
As an American, I believe we have a duty to support and observe freedom in all parts of the world.
That’s not to say we should be putting any more boots on foreign soil (though we would be remiss not to drop some CIA loafers into the area, countries do not have friends only interests) but paying attention to the rest of the world and becoming part of a more global community could lead to eventual peace in the disenfranchised parts of the world that experience persecution every day.
Hopefully, we can make the world a little bit better of a place.