We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Egyptian Revolution

Click here to access article featuring an interview with Wael Khalil who is an Egyptian activist and a blogger.

Khalil is very optimistic about the prospects for the Egyptian revolution to continue. In this interview he explains why.
We always used to read in books about the permanent revolution but we see it happening in Egypt today. At every stage even before the fall of Mubarak there were those who would say let us stop here, and those who would say let the revolution continue. This will go on between the liberal forces who only talk about political freedoms and elections’ cards. They thank the people and ask them to go home with their LE 300 [cheap hotel apartments], to their wrecked dwellings and broken education. But there are those who say no. The revolution will not stop until it really realizes all of its goals, that is, the restructuring of society for the benefit of the wide majority of the people.