Hooray for the "ordinary" citizens who've linked arms
and saved their main museum from low-life looters,
thoughtless destroyers of irreplaceable, tangible history.
The Egyptian Army deserves kudos as well, of course.
THESE are the outstanding people in all the last ten
days' Egyptian fury, NOT:
(1) Mr. Obama, who, while being the somewhat tepid
"voice of reason", actually COULD have been more effective.
(--How about this: "If you don't step down now, Mr.
Mubarak, we will withhold our annual gift of one
plus billion dollars to Egypt.") Before anyone rejects
such a notion out of hand, allow me to remind you
that the U.S. thinks nothing of issuing and enforcing
sanctions/blockades when it deems it appropriate;
(2) Mr. Mubarak, who, while giving the U.S. and Israel
what is wanted/needed, has "served" in a thirty-year
dictatorship with massive corruption at every level of
Egyptian life, including university professor-doled
"good grades". Here's more that's unsupportable: extremely
high unemployment, expensive/scarce foodstuffs, shocking
percentages of illiteracy. Oh Mr. M., everybody knows
you're 82, even though the dark dye hair job is pretty
convincing. You're no Sadat, which you amply proved after
just a few years "in office". (--What's with not allowing
a vice-president until now? --Think you're immortal?)
Yes, we've had our "imperial" public servants too, like
Strom Thurmond, who never gave up his senate post,
as he should have done decades sooner.
I could list many more actors on the current stage,
but it's obvious that much in human life occurs as
a "top down" phenomenon.
Meanwhile, the rational, regular citizens have broken
the conventional mold and are providing inspiration
from the "bottom up". Here are Egypt's heroes,
nothing ordinary about THEM.
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I doubt many/any of the protesters have thought beyond getting rid of Mubarak or much else beyond the immediate. The problem in far too many governmental structures, but moreso in figure-headed, tightly controlled ones, is a lack of contenders.
ReplyDeleteWhen one controls and staffs a government strictly with loyalists, there's no incubator for leadership. The U.S. track-record of maintaining and supporting such travesties is long and sad.
--Jumping Jellybeans, you are right, but I wasn't thinking about "down the road" for this post. I do think it's remarkable that people who can't buy enough decent food risk bodily harm to preserve their iconic, beautiful, historic artifacts. That surely is special.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, long term, the situation there is highly chaotic, dangerously fluid with several if not many factions. Here indeed, sadly, is the slippery slope to anarchy, a real possibility.
As to contenders, what's wrong with El Baradai? Yes, he was away from Egypt for
years if not decades, but he has intellect,
integrity (it seems so to me after watching him over the past ten years) and international stature; those qualities might
acquit him admirably.
Best, A.
--Grrh! He spells it ElBaradei, misspelled
ReplyDeletethe man's name. A.