By Caitlin Walsh, Columnist
"Every great movement begins with one man, and I guess that's me." Do you know who said that? Here's a hint: he's a recent newsmaker. If you guessed Colonel Mummar Gaddafi, the leader of Libya, then you would be wrong.
It's actually Charlie Sheen, the former star of "Two and a Half Men," who has been dismissed from the show after abusing drugs and alcohol one time too many. Sheen has since gone on as many TV talk shows as he can, in order to prove that he is clean and sober through the power of his mind. However, he keeps saying things that seriously put his sobriety into question.
Sheen might still be on drugs, or he might be having a mental breakdown. Nobody really knows for sure. The problem is all the time spent speculating about his current condition is time that could have been used to cover the protests in Northern Africa and the Middle East.
The nation was captivated by the drama that unfolded in Egypt only a few short weeks ago. The nation seems more concerned about Sheen and his antics than what's happening with Egypt's next door neighbor.
What's happening in Libya now could have easily happened in Egypt if the protesters weren't able to organize as well as they did and if Mubarak hadn't stepped down as president when he did. Libya's protests have not gone smoothly.
The nation is bordering on civil war as opposition leaders have the eastern half of the country under their control while Gaddafi refuses to leave his capital.
One vital difference is the Colonel is not afraid to use the military against his own citizens as a way to deter protestors. Many Libyan soldiers have defected because they refuse to fire on their fellow countrymen. However Gaddafi has mercenary soldiers who he hired and trained from other African nations and are willing to follow his orders.
Gaddafi is not your typical despot. He has said some crazy things while trying to hold onto his country. He has blamed the revolution on hallucinogenic drugs. And Sheen is not having your typical celebrity breakdown. He has also said crazy things, especially since he created a Twitter account and easily amassed one million followers within 24 hours.
Games have sprouted up all over the Internet where people have to decide if a crazy quote is from the Colonel or from Sheen. The crazy quotes are similar enough that it's easy to guess wrong. But the quotes themselves bring up an important point.
Libya's revolution is not an isolated event that will go away. It is part of a movement that has swept through the Middle East and North Africa over the last three months. Before Egypt, there was Tunisia and Algeria. Now there's Libya and Bahrain.
But there are at least 13 other countries where there have been at least protests for change. The whole region is undergoing a momentous change right before our eyes. But we can't see it because we're too busy watching Sheen self destruct. So in the case of Libya and a majority of the region, their revolutions will not be televised.