This so called Egyptian Uprising really got me. I've been in vagually similar states myself: academic debates, protest marches and demonstrations, defending the hainburger au (a floodplain forest on the boundaries of Vienna), then also experiences in civil war guatamala and clandestine Honduras. One BBC interviewee described it as spirituality. It comes close. Masses on the streets for days with mutual just causes. Neighbors, strangers, students, soldiers and vegetable vendors (yes, I also mean Mohammed Bouazizi).

What do they do. We think of them as chanting. But that is only some of them part of the time.

The rest of the time they were talking to eachother.

Maybe they organised by facebook, texted through twitter. But the rest, the big stuff, what made and will make the difference: was word of mouth.

Communicating and sharing the essence of being with strangers, students, soldiers and vegetable vendors. That is what, together with their glory and happiness, they have ahead of us.

[ ...more ]     posttime: 2/13/11; 12:48:10 AM