Saturday, February 12, 2011

Mubarak Resigns: Egypt Rejoices, America Watches

Now that Mubarak says he's resigned and the army has stepped in to maintain order, Egypt is celebrating the exit of Mubarak. It's really uplifting to see so many people in the streets. It's quite inspiring to witness the momentous power in the single act of large numbers of people staying in the streets until their demands are met. It speaks to how real change is made. In this sense, Egypt has left President Obama, who promised real change, behind. The people of Egypt, without a leader telling them what to do, have demonstrated just how real change comes about in the people's interest, and how to bring it about quickly, during the current era, to end suffering. Staying in the streets was a heroic act on the part of the Egyptian people. Now that Mubarak has left office,  President Obama said Egypt will never the same. That was the same thing that George Bush and Dick Cheney said after 9/11.

 What's the difference? It may be telling.

Egypt's never the same means the promise of broader freedom and dignity, lower prices in every day necessities, and greater opportunity for more people. It means the chance for a stronger labor movement and a means to lessen the monetary gap between owners and workers. And it means a window of opportunity for women to group together and push themselves toward equality in family, state and personal matters. In fact, if women are to rise to their potential as the new arena takes shape, they must step forward together into leadership roles to lift all women up with them. America's never the same has meant the rationalization for greater restrictions on freedom and dignity, greater police surveillance, wider unchecked corruption in government, more wild west unregulated corporations, additional constriction in economic growth for most, weaker labor unions, broader freezes on opportunities, less opportunities for women, and a growing malaise in spirit in which a general citizen's identity and contribution to the greater society is primarily shaped by his or her consumerism.

Can America learn from Egypt? Perhaps. Perhaps its citizens can learn why it's important to remain peaceful in the streets if its citizens ever decide to visit Wall Street. Perhaps its citizens can learn why it's important to not leave the streets once you get there until all of your demands are met without compromise. Perhaps its citizens will come to find it important to go to Wall Street and demand Wall Street hand over the banks to the people, so the people can use the profits to build their roads, improve their schools, build rails and clean energy devices, engage in sky's the limit research in heath and science, provide no limit medical care for all, get the homeless off the streets, protect animals, end oppression against women and minorities, promote art centers, take care of its lost youths and those down on their luck, and yes, uplift all the citizens into real opportunities so they can try to reach their potentials. I'm just not sure what else we should all be doing other than living under the best conditions for each of us to reach our greatest potential. We can have that arena now. But it means engaging in actions that bring about real change.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Merci d'avoir un blog interessant