Celebrations
Celebrants have rallied on Parliament Hill to express solidarity with the people of Egypt on the occasion of the downfall of their former president, Hosni Mubarak. A sense of accomplishment and hope for the future of a traditional Arab state transitioning to democracy has stimulated people everywhere to feel positively about the prospects of Egypt moving confidently into the 21st Century.
As though overnight there will be a remarkable transition from a Dictator-led republic to a relinquishing of power by the country's powerful, politically-invested armed forces to a civilian-led government dedicated to the institution of democracy for the greater good of the people. Sounds great in theory. But that very transition will be time-consuming and difficult to achieve.
In the interim, the problems that assail the country are the same for the most part that confront many other emerging economies, not all of them in the Middle East, but most (including of course Africa). All countries in the Middle East however, with the exception of Israel have the issue of human rights and freedoms to attend to eventually, since all with the exception of Israel are deficient in those areas.
It is tedious in the extreme to see that the usual self-proclaimed human-righteous activists, the opposition party, self-reverentials were out in force to speak disapprovingly of the measured stance of the Government of Canada and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, remarking on the revolutionary hand-over that has taken place in Egypt. MP Paul Dewar, and Monia Mazigh front and centre.
Revolutionary; not quite, since an armed forces-backed republic has seen its head of state removed and the armed forces moving in to restore order and security, urging the protesters who vociferously, implacably, insisted on that removal, to disperse and permit the country to return to normal. Whether or not the armed forces will conspire to remain in power with a figurehead, or permit the country to remake itself under civilian rule is yet to be seen.
Yet to be seen is the place that the Muslim Brotherhood will find for itself in the governance of the country. Most of the youth leadership of the protesters may have rejected the feasibility of the Muslim Brotherhood profiting politically from their epic struggle to remove their president, but the people do speak, since this was a popular-people revolution, and that people in the majority prefer the domination of Islam in their lives.
When the Soviet Union disintegrated, Russians and the former satellite countries of the USSR entertained visions of themselves entering a state of democracy, and chief among their dreams was that of becoming a capitalist society. For, as they well knew, capitalism meant wealth and with a democratic capitalist transformation everyone would be wealthy.
And so, Russia declined into poverty, the expectations of its people dashed, and state monopolies sold to private bidders at fire sale prices. It took quite a while for Russia to find its political, social and economic legs, before it could feel confident about itself and its future, and before it began to prosper under a free market.
This is not what Egyptians are looking forward to, a long and insufferably miserable time of reaching for that elusive goal. With democracy and freedoms should come enterprise and success at a galloping pace, making them comfortable and secure. It should, if dreams were reality, but reality does not express dreams. Often nightmares ensue before the merest whisper of a dream can evolve.
It's not surprising that people who feel themselves newly liberated exult and dream about instant gratification of their desires. It is, however, unconscionable when those who know better encourage them to believe in miracles, rather than render calm congratulations and proffer sincere hopes for a better future.
As though overnight there will be a remarkable transition from a Dictator-led republic to a relinquishing of power by the country's powerful, politically-invested armed forces to a civilian-led government dedicated to the institution of democracy for the greater good of the people. Sounds great in theory. But that very transition will be time-consuming and difficult to achieve.
In the interim, the problems that assail the country are the same for the most part that confront many other emerging economies, not all of them in the Middle East, but most (including of course Africa). All countries in the Middle East however, with the exception of Israel have the issue of human rights and freedoms to attend to eventually, since all with the exception of Israel are deficient in those areas.
It is tedious in the extreme to see that the usual self-proclaimed human-righteous activists, the opposition party, self-reverentials were out in force to speak disapprovingly of the measured stance of the Government of Canada and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, remarking on the revolutionary hand-over that has taken place in Egypt. MP Paul Dewar, and Monia Mazigh front and centre.
Revolutionary; not quite, since an armed forces-backed republic has seen its head of state removed and the armed forces moving in to restore order and security, urging the protesters who vociferously, implacably, insisted on that removal, to disperse and permit the country to return to normal. Whether or not the armed forces will conspire to remain in power with a figurehead, or permit the country to remake itself under civilian rule is yet to be seen.
Yet to be seen is the place that the Muslim Brotherhood will find for itself in the governance of the country. Most of the youth leadership of the protesters may have rejected the feasibility of the Muslim Brotherhood profiting politically from their epic struggle to remove their president, but the people do speak, since this was a popular-people revolution, and that people in the majority prefer the domination of Islam in their lives.
When the Soviet Union disintegrated, Russians and the former satellite countries of the USSR entertained visions of themselves entering a state of democracy, and chief among their dreams was that of becoming a capitalist society. For, as they well knew, capitalism meant wealth and with a democratic capitalist transformation everyone would be wealthy.
And so, Russia declined into poverty, the expectations of its people dashed, and state monopolies sold to private bidders at fire sale prices. It took quite a while for Russia to find its political, social and economic legs, before it could feel confident about itself and its future, and before it began to prosper under a free market.
This is not what Egyptians are looking forward to, a long and insufferably miserable time of reaching for that elusive goal. With democracy and freedoms should come enterprise and success at a galloping pace, making them comfortable and secure. It should, if dreams were reality, but reality does not express dreams. Often nightmares ensue before the merest whisper of a dream can evolve.
It's not surprising that people who feel themselves newly liberated exult and dream about instant gratification of their desires. It is, however, unconscionable when those who know better encourage them to believe in miracles, rather than render calm congratulations and proffer sincere hopes for a better future.
Labels: Canada, Economy, Energy, Environment, Human Relations, Middle East
posted by Pieface @ 7:51 PM
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