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

Monday, April 18, 2011

Could Egypt's revolution be stolen?

Click here to access article by Kieron Monks from Al Jazeera.

Because the revolution is unfinished, it can't be stolen, it can only be halted or reversed. For me, a coup d'etat, even if caused by the people, is not a revolution. But the groundwork has been laid for a profound social revolution, and I will continue to follow the unfinished revolutionary events in Egypt. The US trained and equipped military governing regime is more likely to serve their sponsors than the Egyptian people. Thus, I think further clashes between the people and the military regime are inevitable. Meanwhile...
The army's public face, the Supreme Council, continues to hit the right public relations notes. Their move to arrest ex-president Mubarak and his sons has gone down like a treat, while public announcements make great play of claiming they are the people's faithful representatives.