Egypt's future lies with young men like these
I believe that the key to the outcome of the upheavals going on the Mideast lies with the youth of Egypt. The caliber of the young leaders who head the key groups that organized the Egyptian revolt, was enormously impressive.
Egypt’s future lies with young men like these
Trudy Rubin, Inquirer Opinion Columnist
I believe that the key to the outcome of the upheavals going on the Mideast lies with the youth of Egypt. The caliber of the young leaders who head the key groups that organized the Egyptian revolt, was enormously impressive. Doctors, lawyers, accountants, journalists – ranging in age from early 20s to early 30s – they demonstrated an immense talent for organization and strategic planning.
And this is key: their demands had nothing to do with religion, but everything to do with pragmatic interests such as establishing a government that is more representative and less corrupt. There were some Muslim Brotherhood Youth among them, but they were a very small minority and kept a low profile.
In a region where 60 per cent of the population is under 25, these young leaders can provide role models for youth in countries less developed than Egypt. The key unanswered question is whether the abilities that enabled them to topple an autocrat can be translated into the kinds of skills that can build new, effective political parties, and whether they will be willing to “dirty their hands” by entering politics – a field heretofore disdained by most Egyptians.
I will be writing more about several of these young leaders in next Sunday’s Currents section of The Inquirer.
Egypt will either continue on as a military dictatorshhip or will become an authoritarian islamic regime (e.g., Iran). It will never be a functoning democracy or representative re[ublic. There is nothing in the more than 3,000 year history of Egypt indicating anything different. From the pharohs to today, Egyptians have always been unable to govern themselves and will always fall in line behind the strong horse.— davimcg- Sure....just remember; Achmadijhad was one of the 'youth' in Iran when they're government was taken over in the late 70's. Way to go Rubin. It's radical media types like you who always have the rose colored glasses on. Either that or you don't give a damn about humanity as long as everyone gets a 'fair shake'. Fools— keapitreal
- TRUDY, Trudy, trudy....why do you continue to look for a holy grail? Years of traveling and reporting throughout the M.E. have failed to open your eyes to the realities of the decline, fall and ultimate resurrections of Arab kingdoms, sheikdoms and principalities. The existence of a democracy emerging from the remnants of some "democratic" demonstrations against an Arab government because of perceived "oppressions" by progressive journalists such as you is as unlikely as seeing democrats in the US unanimously calling for the commencement of drilling for oil in regions of the US known to have large quantities of untapped oil. Your ignorance/ misinterpretations of the realities associated with M.E. volatility and historically documented outcomes is almost beyond belief. How is it you continue to ignore the most likely outcome, i.e.,the ultimate emergence of another regressive, fundamentalist theocracy? Maybe your unwillingness to pursue the more realistic outcomes in Egypt is a result of what seems to afflict many progressive journalists, i.e., the refusal to unveil the evils that islamic governance bring to the table.— lefty
