Eygpt Part 2

I may have been wrong. I had previously posted the opinion that Egypt's revolution would not meet the demands of the participants.

Last night on TVO ( arguably the best TV station in Canada) on the program "The Agenda" ( arguably the best news program on TV) there was a great discussion on Egypt. All of the 5 panelist had deep roots in the Middle East and three had been born in Egypt - which gave the discussion an air of authenticity.

One of the comments made some sense to me. First this is a conservative revolution - people want to re-build the capitalistic democracy that once existed. They may be content in at least the short term in some sort of modified democracy - not like we think we have in the west  - but something close.

While I am not ( as you may have guessed) a fan of capitalistic democracy - this approach gives me some hope that there is not a revolution happening but some form of speeded up evolution of the political process. Perhaps the Egyptians have found a route to stability and some minor growth in terms of financial security with out the bloodshed. Perhaps this can be a route to a social democracy. If so - good for them. It is time there were some new ways of doing business.

minor point on blogs

I know some people (relatively few) read these blogs - I have a counter and so I know for example that 4 people visited the site yesterday. I don't know who or whether it was the same person  who visited 4 times.

On occassion please feel free to leave a comment,  it would be nice to know what you think.

Thanks

Eygpt - what are they thinking?

I find it a bit depressing to see on the news all that is going on in the Middle East. It can not end well. Now that all of the western European/North American have decided that they need to support those who want the President gone - it is only a matter of time. But I keep on asking myself - where are the intellectual leaders  (as defined by Gramsci)? Why haven't they talked/taught about the need for change before this in a way that gives people the tools to make reasonable decisions? (not that we do any better in Canada in terms of making rational political decisions)

There seems to be two positions. The first one is the one that now appears to be the politically proper one - that is - get rid of the dictator. And immediately, according to some of the protesters, there will be both a democracy and even more importantly such things as food prices will drop down and there will be jobs for all.. There is no proof in any country that a capitalistic democracy insures that everyone can afford to feed their family. All of those young people who are out there, sometimes risking their lives to protest the current regime, desperately want a change so that they can have freedom, also want to get a job and to have a reasonable economic future. I am afraid that they are going to be disappointed on one if not both counts.

The other positions argues that things are not so bad under the present regime and that Egypt needs a strong (read dictatorship) leader. They appear on the TV news to be slightly older. They want the protest to stop so that they can get on with their lives. One has to wonder how many of those who support the President are unemployed and/or poor? Of course those who are doing well under the present systm want to keep the status quo.

This is not just a protest to get rid of a president- it is also, and perhaps even primarily,  a class struggle between those who have and those who do not. Until that is understood - any changes that occur will just be placing a band-aid on a festering wound.

 

Getting Old

I think if someone had asked me when I was 20 - I would have made the assumption that by the time I reached 60+ - life would be, if not easier, at least be more organized. That somehow the chaos of adolescence would be long gone and that life would be, relatively smoothly, rolling along. In fact I think I would have said that it would be so predicable that it would be boring.

That is not happening. I am not asking for a boring life, or even one that was always predicable - else why would I hitchhike? But good heavens!! Could I please a little bit of control over something? There are days when I feel as if I know far less than I did when I was 20, and that my knowledge will continue to diminish. There are times when life seems so complicated that breathing is difficult.

I think that that 20 year old would have made the assumption that I would, by this age, at least know which direction I was moving in. I think I have accepted that my life does not move in straight consistent lines. I would however, be happy if I was even going in circles - but this zig-zaging is rather confusing and tiring.  I am starting to realize that life is a full time job  - or rather if one wants life to be interesting you have to participate in living - not just float along. Life might be a river flowing to the sea - but I guess we have the choice to either float down it on the river tube or we can at least attempt to paddle our own canoe - no matter how frustrating that might be.