Opting out.. not an option/ 'WITNESS'

When an entity has power it should be confident enough of its power to exercise tolerance if not compassion but it is proven over and over again that the gentle giant in fairy tales appears only as an ogre no matter what he/she/it represents.

* Protesters seen as mere irritants

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Perhaps there will come a time when a people related and yet so diverse can express how they feel and think without fearing severe backlash from one oppostion or another but only when a modicum of equilibrium is regained will there come such a time. Until then, the national spirit would appear inextricable from the political arena.
Many caught up in the turmoil are tired and survival instincts are all that remain. But even giving in to weariness comes at a price, the aligning consensus being: Whatever worms have escaped from the proverbial can will only be joined by others; hope for any reform rapidly fades.

*
 the proverbial wood with trees ever-growing.

Following exhilaration of awakening, a few too many now appear to have forgotten and with the return of the Military revel in the shallow victory of 'I told you so'.. It is time, if only for the sake of those who have laid down their lives, that the cheering stops.  

But battles lost and won are just that and the protest war cannot be erased from memory.

Ironically, our national spirit flourishes and crumbles primarily from our interaction in everyday life, protest marches simply intensify that which underlies and already prevails. The prime enemies of good will are 'fear' and 'hatred' lurking everywhere with 'off' switches shrouded in darkness.

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The original awakening marked by a purity that lit up the world may appear far cruder now but for better or worse it has also gathered in sophistication. Will we witness many more games? Undoubtedly. Will ever-evolving aspirations persist in  seeking the spotlights? Indubitably. Literary viewpoints as well as artistic expression continue to pave the way. 
Should complacency creep in from time to time it is nevertheless doubtful it will ever match Egyptian latency which has been well and truly ruffled.

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The way in which the revolution against a long-term dictatorship  has unfolded is  irrefutably of global relevance but simultaneously also uniquely pertinent to Egypt itself. 
Similarities in the Arab World naturally prevail however respectfully so does every country's own ethos. Ongoing comparisons are often out-of-sync especially those made with the West but  globalisation whether cultural, political technical or economic has made them all imperative. 

 "Democracy Camp"  
"A group of Arab teenagers begins to understand free expression as seismic political changes shake their world ...
"Eventually the kids overcame their differences and began to process their emotions through their creative works at the camp."  "Witness" Link: 
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/witness/2012/12/2012129134253329343.html


















* Anonymous Art of Revolution (Facebook)
** Art for ever (Facebook)