I’ve been waiting a while to talk about Egypt.
First, good on ‘em. I’m a firm advocate of people standing up for themselves. I would also say that Egypt is another step in what I believe is the inevitable direction globalization + internet is taking us. So, whether we like it or not, this is what the future is.
But my cynicism about mankind’s limits already seems to be finding ways to stick its tongue out at hope. NPR’s coverage this morning seems to be uncovering a lot of sour grapes. Insurgencies and revolutions ultimately center on a plausible promise: a single, simple goal that seems achievable.
But once a large group achieves the original goal, which is often negative, the movement splinters. In Egypt’s case, 30 years of strongman rule has conditioned some of its people to seek a new strongman. For those who want no such thing, it’s tempting to consider building a coalition politically, so that at the very least, “your side” can force its will on others.
I think the Tea Party in 2010 is the obvious recent American example. They sure as hell seemed to hate things uniformly, but what they all turn out to want is much more heterogenous than what they did not want. Certainly, some are hewing to their core principles…but I imagine many of them will become more old-school Republicans soon enough. And just as certainly, the President has shifted his tone considerably away from his “reformer” persona.
I don’t necessarily consider either of these transformations as negative. I see them as inevitable. The people are not stupid, per se…but we do tire easily. Whipping up a revolution takes a lot of energy, and most of us couldn’t imagine staying on top of a mayor, governor, sheriff, congresspeople and senators for their entire terms.
Rich people have this energy, because they can pay for it. And as long as someone can pay to care more than you, they will win. Democrat, Republican, libertarian, commie or despot, the rich will win.
If the internet somehow manages to make the world more “democratic”, it will do so at a cost: our ideas will Balkanize us, even more than they already have. If, say, Tunisia decides to go more “old school”, and puts its women back inside the house, how does it expect to sustain economic growth in a global environment? The only way a society could compete with an enforced 50% unemployment rate would be to change its mind…or to only play in a market where ALL the players had the same rule set.
In empires, the rulers could adjust right and wrong to serve political reality…the Ottomans were certainly masters at declaring and undeclaring jihad when it suited them. But a democratic fundamentalism is a nightmare – you have to wait until 51% of the people think God favors money from the infidel more than he favors moral purity. And I daresay, when people’s religion is challenged in this way, they historically find infidels to kill before they accept God changing His mind.
And this moral purity concept goes beyond God. Even more than Jesus (I apologize for this truth, my evangelical friends), America worships individual freedoms as its state religion. Some of us think of that as freedom from oppression (down with the white male, even if he’s a nice guy!); some of us think of that as freedom from sickness or want (Obamacare is either necessary, or the blood-curse of the Antichrist); some of us think of that as freedom of action (literally speaking, the Second Amendment allows me to keep an unshielded nuclear weapon in my house, and if you’re catching my rads, you should move!). But all of us get ornery, and damned fast, when we see someone attacking freedom…whatever the hell that is.
More liberty and individuality are the future, whether we like that or not. Let’s hope we all keep learning how to use these powers with some sense of responsibility. And fi maa’ Allah, ya Musriyeen.
