All lies and jest
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest
—Paul Simon
Darkness descends upon the Arab world. Waste, death, and destruction
attend a fight for a better life. Outsiders compete for influence and
settle accounts. The peaceful demonstrations with which this began,
the lofty values that inspired them, become distant memories.
Elections are festive occasions where political visions are an
afterthought. The only consistent program is religious and is stirred
by the past. A scramble for power is unleashed, without clear rules,
values, or endpoint. It will not stop with regime change or survival.
History does not move forward. It slips sideways.
Games occur within games: battles against autocratic regimes, a
Sunni–Shiite confessional clash, a regional power struggle, a newly
minted cold war. Nations divide, minorities awaken, sensing a chance
to step out of the state’s confining restrictions. The picture is
blurred. These are but fleeting fragments of a landscape still coming
into its own, with only scrappy hints of an ultimate destination. The
changes that are now believed to be essential are liable to be
disregarded as mere anecdotes on an extended journey.
When goals converge, motivations differ. The US cooperated with Gulf
Arab monarchies and sheikhdoms in deposing Qaddafi yesterday and in
opposing Assad today. It says it must be on the right side of history.
Yet those regimes do not respect at home the rights they piously
pursue abroad. Their purpose is neither democracy nor open societies.
They are engaged in a struggle for regional domination. What, other
than treasure, can proponents of a self-styled democratic uprising
find in countries whose own system of governance is anathema to the
democratic project they allegedly promote?
The new system of alliances hinges on too many false assumptions and
masks too many deep incongruities. It is not healthy because it cannot
be real. Something is wrong. Something is unnatural. It cannot end
well.
A video makes the rounds. Nasser regales the crowd with the story of
his encounter with the then head of the Muslim Brotherhood, who asks
him to compel women to be veiled. The Egyptian leader replies: Does
your daughter wear a veil? No. If you can’t control her, how do you
expect me to control tens of millions of Egyptian women? He laughs and
the crowd laughs with him. It is the early 1950s, over half a century
ago. Today, one senses wistfulness for such humor and such bravado.
History does not move forward.
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest
—Paul Simon
Darkness descends upon the Arab world. Waste, death, and destruction
attend a fight for a better life. Outsiders compete for influence and
settle accounts. The peaceful demonstrations with which this began,
the lofty values that inspired them, become distant memories.
Elections are festive occasions where political visions are an
afterthought. The only consistent program is religious and is stirred
by the past. A scramble for power is unleashed, without clear rules,
values, or endpoint. It will not stop with regime change or survival.
History does not move forward. It slips sideways.
Games occur within games: battles against autocratic regimes, a
Sunni–Shiite confessional clash, a regional power struggle, a newly
minted cold war. Nations divide, minorities awaken, sensing a chance
to step out of the state’s confining restrictions. The picture is
blurred. These are but fleeting fragments of a landscape still coming
into its own, with only scrappy hints of an ultimate destination. The
changes that are now believed to be essential are liable to be
disregarded as mere anecdotes on an extended journey.
When goals converge, motivations differ. The US cooperated with Gulf
Arab monarchies and sheikhdoms in deposing Qaddafi yesterday and in
opposing Assad today. It says it must be on the right side of history.
Yet those regimes do not respect at home the rights they piously
pursue abroad. Their purpose is neither democracy nor open societies.
They are engaged in a struggle for regional domination. What, other
than treasure, can proponents of a self-styled democratic uprising
find in countries whose own system of governance is anathema to the
democratic project they allegedly promote?
The new system of alliances hinges on too many false assumptions and
masks too many deep incongruities. It is not healthy because it cannot
be real. Something is wrong. Something is unnatural. It cannot end
well.
A video makes the rounds. Nasser regales the crowd with the story of
his encounter with the then head of the Muslim Brotherhood, who asks
him to compel women to be veiled. The Egyptian leader replies: Does
your daughter wear a veil? No. If you can’t control her, how do you
expect me to control tens of millions of Egyptian women? He laughs and
the crowd laughs with him. It is the early 1950s, over half a century
ago. Today, one senses wistfulness for such humor and such bravado.
History does not move forward.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2012/nov/08/not-revolution/
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