It seemed to begin as a collective show of support on behalf of a young generation for political change in just another country removed from our way of life.

But the political protests that began on the shoulders of a group of young people looking for a change in what they consider to be the dictatorial leadership they’ve suffered under for three decades was always poised to turn into what it did: a violent clash of ideals.

Egypt matters. And the reasons why go far beyond political agenda or, more appropriately, an oil-rooted agenda. And the situation is relative to the stories we witness every day.

Following a political uprising in Tunisia, a strong wave of youth found inspiration in the act of peaceful protest for political change.

They assembled in the biggest cities of the largest Arab country in the Middle East.

It seemed almost too peaceful.

Journalists on the ground reported a feeling of exhilaration among the crowd, yearning only for an end to poverty and a promise of something better.

Military and police claimed they would not exert force on the people and the people refrained from force against authority.

President Barack Obama advised Egypt’s leader, Hosni Mubarak not to see re-election. Mubarak made a public announcement that he would not.

So it seemed a celebratory situation and to watch newscasts and listen to governmental officials, the situation was as simple as what our founding fathers have likely believed.

Peaceful protest is an usher to developmental change.

Only it wasn’t so simple.

And it was never going to be.

By Wednesday morning, newscasts carried a slightly different tone.

Millions of protesters against Mubarak remained in Tahrir, or “liberation,” Square. They remained peaceful.

But as evening set in, a wave of Mubarak supporters flooded Cairo.

Numerous media outlets said the air had suddenly become tense.

In a matter of hours, an estimated 400 people were injured; Molotov cocktails were being thrown in impressive numbers into the crowds of protesters who included women and children.

Journalists were attacked, shots rang out in the square and the future looks uncertain.

Here’s why it matters:

When a framework is broken, what is built upon it will always falter. It happens every day in the lives of the people we know.

Those with vulnerabilities are scammed and swindled.

Those who try to cover up the problems they carry with them build upon them with more problems.

Where we try to throw half-baked solutions at a broken system, the system still fails us.

With the most earnest of intentions, a group of people wanting only for a better life, could not see the doors opening at every turn for those with less than earnest intentions to move in.

When that happens, what results is a dangerous mix of manipulation and oppression.

While many looked at the situation as just a peaceful wave of history in the making, others were waiting for the storm. And the storm came. On horseback.

With whips and clubs and incendiary devices.

The earnest still stand upon a broken framework.

This is not to say the Egyptian people should not have assembled for change.

This is not to say whether or not Mubarak was a lousy leader.

But as we watch the events unfold in Egypt, we must watch closely how our leaders perceive those events.

See the dangers and you don’t have to sacrifice momentum; you don’t have to hold people back from possibility.

You’re simply better equipped to avoid the mayhem.

And that matters. In Egypt and at home.

Because if we don’t recognize the flaws in the frame it could come back to haunt us when the wrong people are in the right place at the right time.

Jessica Sieff reports for Leader Publications. Reach her at jessica.sieff@leaderpub.com.