As I watched the Egyptian people lift the veil of secrecy, I began to question how the LGBT movement should use their lobbying power to not only advocate for the equality of our community here at home, but how we should apply pressure to move our country away from this uncomfortable relationship with dictators?

I was sad to learn that tear gas canisters used against the protesters say, "Made in the USA." 42,000 manufacturing plans have closed in the United States during the last decade and I can't even buy a television made in this country any more, yet we are still in the tear gas business.

I refreshed my enthusiasm for Al Jazeera English , despite the media blackout in the United States. I huddled closely with my iPhone so I could hear for the first time in my life from Egyptians about how angry they were with my country for supporting Mubarak for so long: "The American people must tell their government to stop supporting dictators," an impassioned civilian told the camera.

Like most of the world, I am glued to developments in Egypt as the people move to overturn their 30-year dictatorship.

President Obama and his administration are in a complicated situation. $1.2 billion in aid flows from the United States to Egypt largely because Mubarak supported US policy towards Israel. Egypt also controls the Suez Canal, which is how oil is moved out of the Middle East.

If the United States was not friendly with Mubarak then access to the Suez may have been restricted, and Israel could be in an even more precarious situation. The cost was 30 years of oppression for the Egyptian people, and an entire generation of Egyptians that blamed the United States for that oppression.

As Americans we love to claim the moral high road and say we are pro-freedom, but rarely are there any among us who are willing to do anything to help those who do not have freedom. CNBC was not shy about our motives, cheap oil.

The United States has a long history with dictators and oppressive governments throughout the world, when those relationships benefit our foreign policy.

Here is the most comprehensive list I could find:

Africa MOBUTU SESE SEKO

Dictator of Zaire 1965-1997 MOHAMMED SIAD BARRE

President/Dictator of Somalia 1969-1991 GEN. IBRAHIM BABANGIDA

Military Dictator/President of Nigeria 1985-1993 GEN. SANI ABACHA

Dictator of Nigeria 1993-1998 HASTINGS KAMUZU BANDA

Dictator of Malawi 1966-1994 LAURENT-DÉSIRÉ KABILA

President/Dictator of the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1997-2001 GNASSINGBE ETIENNE EYADEMA

Dictator of Togo 1967-2005 FELIX HOUPHOUET-BOIGNY

Dictator/President of the Ivory Coast 1960-1993 HASSAN II

King of Morocco 1961-1999 TEODORO OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO

President/Dictator of Equatorial Guinea 1979-present ZINE EL ABIDINE BEN ALI

President-Prime Minister/Dictator of Tunisia 1987-2011 ANWAR EL-SADAT

President/Dictator of Egypt 1970-1981 HOSNI MUBARAK

President/Dictator of Egypt 1981-present IAN SMITH

Prime Minister of Rhodesia (white minority regime) 1965-1979 PIETER WILLEM BOTHA

Prime Minister of South Africa (white minority regime) 1978-1984, President 1984-1989 DANIEL ARAP MOI

President/Dictator of Kenya 1978-2002 HAILE SELASSIE (RAS TAFARI)

Emperor of Ethiopia 1928-1974 WILLIAM J. S. TUBMAN

President/Dictator of Liberia 1944-1971 SAMUEL KANYON DOE

Dictator of Liberia 1980-1990 Asia MOHAMED SUHARTO

Dictator of Indonesia 1966-1998 NGO DINH DIEM

President/Dictator of South Vietnam 1955-1963 GEN. NGUYEN KHANH

Dictator of South Vietnam 1964-1965 NGUYEN CAO KY

Dictator of South Vietnam 1965-1967 GEN. NGUYEN VAN THIEU

President/Dictator of South Vietnam 1967-1975 TRAN THIEM KHIEM

Prime Minister of South Vietnam 1969-75 BAO DAI

Emperor of Vietnam 1926-1945, chief of state 1949-1955 LEE KUAN YEW

Prime Minister/Dictator of Singapore 1959-1990; behind-the scenes ruler since then. EMOMALI RAHMONOV

President/Dictator of Tajikistan 1992-present NURSULTAN NAZARBAYEV

President of Kazakhstan 1990-present ISLAM A. KARIMOV

President/Dictator of Uzbekistan 1990-present SAPARMURAD ATAYEVICH NIYAZOV

President/Dictator of Turkmenistan 1990-2006 MARSHAL LUANG PIBUL SONGGRAM

Dictator of Thailand 1948-1957 FIELD MARSHAL THANOM KITTIKACHORN

Prime Minister/Dictator of Thailand 1957-58, 1963-1973 CHIANG KAI-SHEK

President/Dictator (Nationalist) of China 1928-1949

President/Dictator of Taiwan 1949-1975 CHIANG CHING-KUO

President/Dicator of Taiwan 1978-1988; Prime Minister 1972-1978 DENG XIAOPING

De facto ruler of China from circa 1978 to the early 1990s FERDINAND MARCOS

President/Dictator of the Philippines 1965-1986 SYNGMAN RHEE

President/Dictator of South Korea 1948-1960 GEN. PARK CHUNG HEE

President/Dictator of South Korea 1962-1979 GEN. CHUN DOO HWAN

President/Dictator of South Korea 1980-1988 SIR MUDA HASSANAL BOLKIAH

Sultan of Brunei 1967-present GEN. LON NOL

Prime Minister/Dictator of Cambodia 1970-1975 POL POT

Dictator of Cambodia 1975-1979 MAJ. GEN. SITIVENI RABUKA

Dictator of Fiji 1987-1999 ASKAR AKAYEV

President of Kyrgyzstan 10/27/1990-2005 Europe FRANCISCO FRANCO

Dictator of Spain 1939-1975 ANTONIO SALAZAR DE OLIVEIRA

Dictator of Portugal 1928-1968 COL. GEORGIOS PAPADOPOULOS

Prime Minister/President/Dictator of Greece 1967-1973 Latin America ANASTASIO SOMOZA GARCIA

Dictator of Nicaragua 1937-1947, 1950-1956 ANASTASIO "TACHITO" SOMOZA DEBAYLE

Dictator of Nicaragua 1967-1972, 1974-1979 MANUEL ESTRADA CABRERA

Dictator of Guatemala 1898-1920 GEN. JORGE UBICO CASTANEDA

Dictator of Guatemala 1931-1944 COL. CARLOS ENRIQUE CASTILLO ARMAS

Dictator of Guatemala 1954-1957 GEN. JOSE MIGUEL YDIGORAS FUENTES

President/Dictator of Guatemala 1958-1963 COL. ENRIQUE PERALTA AZURDIA

Military Junta, Guatemala 1963-1966 COL.CARLOS ARANA OSORIO

Dictator of Guatemala 1970-1974 GEN. FERNANDO ROMEO LUCAS GARCIA

Dictator of Guatemala 1978-1982 GEN. JOSE EFRAIN RIOS MONTT

Dictator of Guatemala 1982-1983 MARCO VINICIO CEREZO ARÉVALO

President/Dictator of Guatemala 1986-1991 MAXIMILIANO HERNANDEZ MARTINEZ

Dictator of El Salvador 1931-1944 COL. OSMIN AGUIRRE Y SALINAS

Dictator of El Salvador 1944-1945 CIVILIAN-MILITARY JUNTA, EL SALVADOR

1961-1962 COL. ARTURO ARMANDO MOLINA BARRAZA

Dictator of El Salvador 1972-1977 JUNTA, EL SALVADOR

1979-1982 ALFREDO FÉLIX CRISTIANI BUKARD

President/Dictator of El Salvador 1989-1994 TIBURCIO CARIAS ANDINO

Dictator of Honduras 1932-1948 COL. OSWALDO LOPEZ ARELLANO

Dictator of Honduras 1963-1975 ROBERTO SUAZO CORDOVA

President/Dictator of Honduras 1982-1986 GEN. OMAR HERRERA-TORRIJOS

Dictator of Panama 1969-1981 GEN. MANUEL ANTONIO MORENA NORIEGA

Dictator of Panama 1982-1989 AUGUSTO PINOCHET UGARTE

Dictator of Chile 1973-1990 GEN. JORGE RAFAEL VIDELA

Dictator of Argentina 1976-1981 COL. MARCOS PEREZ JIMENEZ

Dictator of Venezuela 1950-1958 GEN. ALFREDO STROESSNER

Dictator of Paraguay 1954-1989 ALBERTO FUJIMORI

Dictator of Peru 1990-2000 FRANCOIS "PAPA DOC" DUVALIER

Dictator of Haiti 1957-1971 JEAN-CLAUDE "BABY DOC" DUVALIER

Dictator of Haiti 1971-1986 MILITARY JUNTA / LT. GEN. RAOUL CEDRAS, GEN. PHILIPPE BIAMBY and LT. COL. MICHEL-JOSEPH FRANCO

Haiti 1991-1994 GEN. RENE BARRIENTOS ORTUNO

President/Dictator of Bolivia 1964-1969 GEN. HUGO BANZER SUAREZ

Dictator of Bolivia 1971-1978 DR. GETULIO VARGAS

Dictator of Brazil 1930-1945, 1951-1954 GEN. HUMBERTO DE ALENCAR CASTELLO BRANCO

Dictator of Brazil 1964-1967 CARLOS PRIO SOCARRAS

Dictator of Cuba 1948-1952 FULGENCIO BATISTA

Dictator of Cuba 1933-44, 1952-1959 GERARDO MACHADO MORALES

Dictator of Cuba 1925-1933 RAFAEL LEONIDAS TRUJILLO

Dictator of the Dominican Republic 1930-1961 Middle East MOHAMMED REZA PAHLAVI Shah of Iran 1941-1979 SADDAM HUSSEIN

Dictator of Iraq 1969 (1979)-2003 GEN. MOHAMMED AYUB KHAN

President/Dictator of Pakistan 1958-1969 GEN. AGHA MUHAMMAD YAHYA KHAN

President/Dictator of Pakistan 1969-1971 GEN. MOHAMMAD ZIA UL-HAQ

President/Dictator of Pakistan 1977-1988 PERVEZ MUSHARRAF

Dictator of Pakistan 1999-2008 ABDUL IBN HUSSEIN I

King of Jordan 1952-1999 TURGUT OZAL

Prime Minister of Turkey 1983-1989, President 1989-1993 SHEIK JABIR AL-AHMAD AL SABAH

Emir of Kuwait 1977-2006

Prime Minister of Kuwait 1962-1963, 1965-1978 FAHD IBN ABDUL-AZIZ AL SAUD

King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia 1982-2005

Previous to Egypt's revolution I revisited Martin Luther King's work during the Vietnam War. I was particularly moved by his willingness to speak out against the oppression of others even when doing so was not politically advisable. Only 20% of the population opposed the Vietnam War when he first spoke out against it, but the rest of the country caught up over time.

I highly recommend this interview in the documentary, "A Man of Peace During a Time of War", which you can watch online here:

Martin Luther King Jr.'s example should be a model for the contemporary LGBT civil rights movement. None of us should be content with a nation so dependent on the oppression of others. From the shoes on our feet, to the gas in our cars, to the food we eat, there is not a single aspect of our lives that is not tainted by the evil of oppression.

And so our tax dollars and our politicians have created a house of cards so that we can blissfully ignore our role in the world while those who lost the sperm lottery suffer for our comfort.

The first thing we should do as a movement is to vocalize our uncompromisable position that all the people of the world must be given access to the basic freedoms we enjoy here: the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, the right to assemble, the right to elect our leaders. It is not just enough to imply that we demand that, but we must articulate that demand every chance we can. It must be part every mission statement of every LGBT organization. This message should be worked into every televised interview, every lobbying opportunity, the personal conversations we have with our friends and social networks. Our voices are free, so we must use them for those who cannot speak.

Secondly, we must insist our leaders represent this goal through actions and not just symbolic language. Our government should not wait until days after the people choose to overturn their dictator to issue a statement of support, that support should be known now.

We must change our own behavior so that we do not economically support dictatorships through our purchasing behavior. Shopping locally, buying previously-owned items, living with less, and using oil-free transportation are all ways we can reduce our support for oppressive regimes.

Finally, we must demand better information from our messengers. It is simply unacceptable that in the most democratic nation in the world, entire populations are silenced because our commercial media chooses to shut them out.

It is our moral obligation as people who have lived with oppression as gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender citizens to help end the oppression of others throughout the world. We must be leaders of conscious and not of consensus. If we do not, none of us will ever truly be free.