Is this the beginning stages of a civil war?
Who will take over?
Will Mubarak fight till the end?
Will this throw the Middle East into upheaval?
Will the new governing body be more or less moderate?
It is very easy to ask these questions and even easier to hypothesize about them. It's also easy to watch the news coverage, see the pictures and think Egypt is enraptured in a bitter violent struggle for power. In the coming weeks and months these questions will be answered and these concerns addressed. The unfortunate aspect of this new and exciting dinner party conversational piece is that some fundamental aspects of this struggle are being overlooked. Many of my friends, family, and seemingly the majority of people in the western world look at the Arab people as innately violent and chaotic. I am guilty of having the very same preconception. However, what I have been witnessing in Egypt is strikingly different than the stereotypes depicted.
Amidst the numerous questions that have been left yet unanswered, there are a few poignant questions that have been answered. At no time over the last two weeks has any element in Egypt decided to use the uncertainty as an excuse to threaten Israel. At no time over the last two weeks has the Egyptian border been compromised by terrorists. At no time over the last two weeks has the Egyptian border shown permeability to weapons being imported or exported from Gaza, Libya, or the Sudan.
There is no doubt the seeds of an impending coup d'etat have been planted. The Egyptian people have, in no uncertain terms, drawn a line in the sand. What is remarkable is that they have not exhibited violence or threatened terror in order to accomplish it What has seemingly looked like a chaotic mess has actually been a profound example of an orderly, levelheaded peaceful and amazingly effective revolution.
The people of Egypt have shown remarkable restraint in the midst of an impassioned demand for social and political change. How can anyone witness what is happening and not be reminded of what began in Montgomery and Selma Alabama in the late 1950's. The civil rights movement was based on people yearning for change and achieving it with nothing more than a passion and a voice. Rather than succumbing to violent anarchy and turmoil, Egypt has become the 21st century example of how to initiate powerful and seemingly impossible change using the very same methodology.
I encourage everyone who reads this to keep the debates alive, to continue asking the questions, and hypothesize about the answers....but never overlook the nature of this revolution.
Chai Horowitz
