What We Can Learn from the Revolution

I’ve always believed in the struggle of human beings to determine their own future and to claim their rights to dignity and freedom. These struggles, all too often, end badly for the people who fight them, but I try to keep faith in seeing the bigger picture: the individual struggles are part of a bigger one, one that makes life worth living. Often the struggle results in a better life for the generations that follow. To see a people’s struggle realized in real time, to see them actually get to witness the fruits of their brave labors is rare, indeed. So it is that the Egyptian revolution is not only inspiring but immensely gratifying. The people have won, and they get to begin now to reap what they have sown. I know what lies ahead is complex and far from easy. And there are many talking heads out there that are hashing out the dangers of what may come. I’ll leave the heads to talk. What I want to think about is the little, human details that I’ve watched these last few weeks which might inspire us all to be better people.

What can our culture learn from Egyptian culture as it has been expressed in the trying days since January 25^th? Plenty. Here are a few that I’ve been thinking about:

Bravery. This revolution worked because the people became fearless. They did not wait for someone to lead the way for them. The fact that there was no clear leader was actually a great asset. No one person can claim the revolution’s victory. The people themselves decided they had had enough, and they faced incredible consequences in taking a stand. Some were killed, some beaten. I remember a video of an old man lying injured on the street shouting “I will die for you, Egypt!” There was a point where it seemed thousands, maybe millions, faced imminent attack, the military jets zooming over, the police thugs at the ready, the army unclear in their intentions and their stance. And yet they kept coming. They would not be intimidated. Look at this man:

The picture, for me, has all the aspects of a saint on a holy card. There is peace, resignation, faith in his face. He raises one hand to the heavens because his other arm is apparently broken, along with his ribs. This is the force the forces had to deal with, and it was unstoppable.

Joy. In the midst of the chaos and fear, Egyptians made constant jokes. One day I hope to translate some of the signs that were held. One of them, held by a guy with voluminous, poofy hair read: “Come on, already. I need a haircut.” Others joked that Mubarak had set himself aflame in front of parliament demanding a change in the people. There were stand-up comics and singers to entertain the protesting crowds. I have always loved the easy laughs and outrageously infectious smiles of Egyptians. That they could manage that same benevolence in the midst of such hardship and uncertainty is truly inspiring.

Generosity. I love that the Hardee’s in Tahrir Square was taken over to give out free cheese and bread. And another moment, captured in a picture, that struck me was from the clean-up after the victory celebration. It kind of says it all. As part of a lost and found for people to be reunited with their belongings, a man held out an orderly tray of wallets for the owners to claim. Could you imagine that happening in the U.S.?

Resourcefulness. Did you ever think about where people used the bathroom in Tahrir Square? How the throngs of people even got there without working trains or buses? Did you see how people used aluminum cooking pots and crushed water bottles to make helmets for themselves when the thugs began to attack them with stones from the bridge?

Peace. Perhaps the most enduring image of the whole revolution for me is the moment on Kasr-El Nil Bridge when the people were praying and the thugs began to attack them with water hoses. No one even seemed to flinch. They just continued, bending, bowing, lifting their hands and faces as they were pelted by the pressure. The calmness, peace and defiance as they continued praying rivals any image I’ve seen of Buddhists sitting in calm meditation as they were attacked in Vietnam. I hope the West can remember this scene when they fall back on the conflation of Islam and violence and know that this religion, just like this country, has been hijacked and is now in the people’s hands.