Tens of thousands of Egyptians have taken to the streets to protest President Mohamed Morsi’s declaration last week, that his edicts are beyond judicial review, essentially making him a dictator.  Former U.S. diplomat Jamie Rubin said Morsi’s edict “brings to mind all the fears that people in that part of the world have had about the Muslim Brotherhood when it comes to democracy.”  In response to the growing tide of protests, Morsi clarified his edict saying, it only applied to “sovereign matters”.  The ruling party downplayed and dismissed the protests as lacking real support despite the swelling humanity.  Egyptian journalist, Mona Eltahawy told CNN, the growing crowds in Tahrir Square have showed up to tell Morsi, “We are your checks and balances. We are the people who will keep you honest, right after you grabbed all of this power for yourself that has made you even more powerful than Mubarak, who we got rid of last year.  We might have elected you as president, but we did not elect a new dictator.”  The real significance here, is the fact the Egyptian people didn’t ouster Mubarak only to have him replaced by another dictator.   In the case of the Egyptian Arab Spring, it appears there is a serious and focussed view that the people want freedom and democracy.  Egyptians seem to be fully cognizant they are at a crossroads in history.  They comprehend that this may be their last, best hope, for a democratic state and they won’t allow a detour and return to autocratic rule.  If this turns out to be the case, we are truly witnessing history.  Only time will tell how this ends, but watching this from the sidelines, there is every reason to be optimistic.