Humanity among the ruins

Stunned to find this morning 1.31.11/9am EST that there is no longer any running coverage of what is going on in Egypt. Have American complained they're missing the usual idiocy or soaps, game shows, vapid yakking talk show? Is that possible? Since the average reading level in the US is at 6th grade, maybe I shouldn't be so shocked. It's disgusting.

So the race is on to flee Egypt by those with American citizenship. I saw alot of women in abaya sitting among those waiting for a flight out. No sense in staying and watching the country go up in smoke. On Sunday the American Embassy in Cairo closed. Landlines, computers etc not working and 53,000 known Americans registered with the embassy...doubtful everyone could make contact or receive information, or maybe there are people with enough badaan to stay and help.

Mubarak 'fired' his govt and is now rehiring many of the same, with only one Karim Mohamed Karim (?) refusing to rejoin the 'new' govt. Nic Robertson tweeted that plans for a Million Man march is being put together for Alex on Tuesday, and Al Arabiya reported alot of people in Alex were shot overnight. AlJazeera journalists and some Americans were arrested, US asked that their reporters be released, Jazeera had its equipment or reporters returned, not sure which-so maybe the game now is telling governments they too cannot see what Egy is going to do to crackdown and crush dissent.

There is still a huge difference between a tweet n cell phone clip and seeing live video with reporters explaining what's going on in the streets. The supposition is mubarak is tellig them not to cover the uproar because it only incites further problems as he tried to do only what he was asked to do by Obama, move ahead with reforms asap and allow for free elections.

When Saddam Hussein's son in law fled the country after some arguements about the nature of life under Hussein, Hussein had his daughter call her husband and say, all is forgiven, come home to the family so we can all be together. The daughter thought her loving father actually was forgiving her husband; no sooner did his plane land when he was brought to the palace and executed.

Can we say that Mubarak's actions with the US in terms of making 'peace' with Israel out weighs all the other sins he is guilty of? His so called peace has allowed tunnels to be built and used all along the Egypt Israel border where even cars can be driven through the tunnels are so well constructed. He's done nothing to improve the lives of Egyptians, no matter what BS talking heads list off. The US is even more guilty for blindly buying him off every year to keep him in line as he pays off and strengthens his Army/Police to keep the poor people of Egypt crushed and seemingly apathetic.

All the despots who met for years, the Arab League of Nations, who mumbled together for a few days, cursing Israel as the bane of their existence and saying their countrymen are too apathetic to raise themselves up for change. What's even more astonishing, is that we've watched for decades now 2 generations of young men throw stone, get shot, blow themselves up and murder other people and yet all of those deaths could not rally the ME as the death of a Tunisian fruit seller.

In a world where you willingly bear and sacrifice your children, thinking its for the sake of the greater good, or even for their G-ds honor, those deaths are justified, they were done willingly. But a man so poor that he could not get a license to sell fruit to make a meager living had his stall confiscated-there was simply nothing left.

Islam is unlike Judaism in that-Islam is fatalistic, a person's lot is what it is, to challenge or question the status of your life be it poverty, domestic abuse, illness etc, is to blaspheme because G-d is Great, so pray 5x a day accepting your situation, shrug and have a sheesha. Those who collect garbage will see their children do the same.
Judaism is a 24/7 exploration relationship, that if lived according to Law brings a Jew to understanding that wealth is often given to the undeserving for reasons G-d knows, its not to be envied, work by your own hand for bread is a healthier meal. Judaism offers hope; a person can pray Tehillim and daily prayers for repentence, health, healing, children, charity is not the exception, its the rule and not at one's convenience. I'll also write there are uncanny similarities in textual stories, manner of prayer, so that to say one is better than the other is not correctly defining the issue-it is enough that G-d told Jews, remain separate, it is for your own good.

The concept of fatalism in Arab culture as been written and studied by minds greater than mine will ever be, but this idea has been exploited by both Arab and non Arabs to control millions of people for centuries. And the children of these peoples have been exposed to a larger world where desire, individuality, expression, dissent, selfishness are possibilities if they can make them happen...it is not necessarily hopeless. Seeing a single young man be denied his destiny to earn a living at the corner of Hopeless & Despair was no longer acceptable. Perhaps one day Americans and maybe Israelis too will understand that it is untenable for humanity that one group of individuals must suffer intensely so that a few others may profit.