The recent movements in Tunisia and Egypt got me thinking about things revolution.
Revolutions are just like hitting Ctrl+Alt+Del on your computer in an effort to get rid of some processes that have run amok. The smarter the user is, the better he/she will be able to decide as to which process and which process tree needs to be gotten rid of, and how - the user can chose either to 'end a process' or 'restart' a system. The decision and the responsibility to make best use of this power to reset the system lies with the participant, be it by hitting Ctrl+Alt+Del on a computer, be it by voting to bring a change in a democratic setting, or be it by being part of a mass movement to overthrow an oppressive regime. Thus, it is crucial that the participating individual, the communities, the societies make every effort to not let a movement devolve into a mob-mentality. There will always be some nefarious elements who will try to seed perfidious ideas and channel the energies of the crowd down the wrong way. That is where individual responsibility comes in - everyone participating in a demonstration should be very vigilant, not just of safety of their person, but also of the safety of their cause and of their ideas - the fidelity of the cause(s) has to be maintained for any revolution to succeed.
Godspeed to our brothers and sisters in Egypt - Viva la Revolution.
We Shall Overcome:
No comments:
Post a Comment