With all the hoopla around the debt ceiling here in the good ol’ U.S. of A., many folks out there have put the developments of the Arab Spring uprisings far out of their minds.

And why not? The uprisings have become far less interesting to the average American since summer began. 

Nevertheless, the uprisings are still happening, and the governments under attack or attempting to establish themselves are facing violence and difficulties — as they have been since the 2011 kickoff of the fights for freedom.

In Egypt, the liberal and leftist groups that lead the revolution are losing support. Now that the sparks have died down, and arguments about who takes power next are at the forefront, many folks are becoming disillusioned by the rhetoric they’re being presented with.

The civil war in Libya has not abated, and Muammar Qaddafi remains very much at large. There’s still no end in sight for the strife that conflict engendered.

In Tunisia, there are rumors of a second revolution on the horizon in order to deal with the stubborn remnants of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s supporters. Their economy is still in the crapper, and their hopes for democracy hinge upon so many factors a domino setup could be considered more stable.

Top this off with Algeria, Bahrain, Yemen, and many others still looking toward the outcome of Egypt to assist in their own efforts for regime change, and you can see that the web of world politics remains in an intriguing state of unrest.

So now that the debt thing is in a holding pattern, let your eyes wander back out across the world and see how much hardship and hope is still influencing your life, whether you like it or not.