Poetry of Revolution

“A man in his forties/ thin/ handsome today/ stroking his black beard/ steps firmly on the ground/ tells the TV camera/ with a budding smile/ that today/ for the first time in his life/ he felt he was Egyptian.”

- Sharif S. Elmusa of Egypt blogs about the poetic, political nature of Revolution. You can read more here.

Power of the People

There have been outbreaks of violence since Antigovernment protests arrived in the Libyan capital, Tripoli today.

In the first months of 2011 we have seen a familiar call for freedom. Spread from out of Northern Africa to the Middle East, calling out with force for liberation from the iron fist.
In the U.S. 170 million Americans are angered at the proposed elimination of federal funding for public broadcasting. Citizens are also speaking out against the amendment passed by Republican-led senate on Friday, which would stop all funding for Planned Parenthood. And on February 11th, the same day that Mubarak stepped down Republican Governor of Wisconsin quietly commenced an attack against public sector unions. All the protests that have ensued in recent days are asking Government officials to honor their right to civic participation.

This wave of radical political alteration reminds me of Amartya Sen's notion of 'Development As Freedom,' in this thesis Sen approaches freedom and the developmental process as intertwined dynamics. The more freedom people have, the more likely they are to partake wholly in their society with greater happiness and health - the more freedom people have the greater the productivity.

Freedoms are not only the primary ends of development,
they are also among its principle means.' – Amartya Sen

People must be granted the Right to speak out, share information and assemble peacefully. Public Broadcasting is on the line, and it is the people's source to reliable news and the capacity to . Do what you can for Public Broadcasting, call your elected official by going to this site. Public Broadcasting allows people to participate in the political process as informed citizens - And to have choices other than Fox News when seeking out unbiased coverage.

انا فخور لسكان البلاد Proud of the People of Egypt

It has been more than two weeks since the advent of the protests in Egypt, yet the gathering of people in Tahrir Square and the strength of their feelings are escalating. The Middle East is entering a New Wave, in which the Y generation is stirring the murky waters of antiquated power. Yet, it is not just the youth - it is everyone who desires to live in 2011, to keep up with the fast changing world, to be part of it. As we can see in Tahrir Square, the faces of the protesters range in age, class and creed - They are Egyptians, and they are demanding to be heard.

It is People's revolution; they are not calling out in the name of Allah or ideology, these people are calling out for their freedom in today's world. The following tweet was posted to the Lede blog in the New York Time's, which brings together a nice montage of reportage from blogs, cellphones images and people's accounts. It is amazing to see the spread of information and imagery via the web, and I feel fortunate that we have access to such a vast array of news sources, unlike the propaganda that is rife on television and news in Egypt.

I love Thomas Friedman's Op-Ed, 'Up With Egypt', here he gives the uprising a sense of hope and humanism.

The Tahrir Square uprising “has nothing to do with left or right,” said Dina Shehata, a researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. “It is about young people rebelling against a regime that has stifled all channels for their upward mobility. They want to shape their own destiny, and they want social justice”

From the Lede NY Time's blog: Taken with a blackberry this sign, on the Parliament gate reads
'Closed Until Regime is Toppled.'

I am distinctly proud of the protesters of Egypt and feel grateful to bare witness to this important moment in history.