____twoism

Posted: **Sat Feb 12, 2011 12:40 am**

Möbius wrote:The Friendly Stranger wrote: This is exactly what I had feared. I don't think the people of Egypt really understood what they were asking for. Democracy doesn't happen over night and it won't in Egypt. However wrong Mubarak's leadership was, he at least needed the chance to prepare the country for a democratic election.

The Egyptian people deserve much more credit than that. Many pro-democracy protesters, especially the youth, are well aware of how difficult democracy is to attain in any country—let alone, achieving this feat domestically. The march towards democracy is an ongoing struggle that seemingly eludes us, and that goes triple for the people who are strapped to the heels of an oppressive regime. To suggest that the Egyptian people are so incredibly naïve to think that, with the absence of Mubarak, their problems would wash away over night, is an insult to the courageous people who have died for the most fundamental human rights.

Agreed. I think the thousands who have braved Molotov cocktails and state-sanctioned violence for 2 weeks know fine well that the next weeks/months aren't going to be easy. To suggest that they've made it worse for themselves is a bit of an insult. They've taken real steps to show that there us a genuine will for democratic, fair and open government. That groundswell isn't going to disappear overnight.

The people in Tahir square are an example to us all.

Posted: **Sat Feb 12, 2011 3:05 pm**

That's what I'm thinking too. I'm not projecting that this is going to go better or worse from here, because hell if I know. But I do think that the fact of a group of people, ordinary citizens, rallying so strongly for something good, something better, in the middle east, is going to permanently change the cultural landscape for everyone in that region living under conditions they'd like to see changed, and hopefully in many ways it's going to change it for the better. Kids who are looking around their world for influences will now see that there are other things they can do besides signing on with guerrilla groups who promise they'll get to kill some americans if they want to see their world improve.

That having been said, I hear they're not happy with us for our role in the whole affair...

Posted: **Sat Feb 12, 2011 6:33 pm**

Sorry to anybody who was offended by what I said, I didn't mean to belittle what is an incredible achievement for the Egyptian people. I just fear for them, because history tells us that things could become a lot worse for them because of this. I really hope things work out positively and they show the world that peaceful protest can achieve great things. They deserve it.