Sadly, dictatorships never learn. The protestors overthrew the government, then stepped back and said simply establish a functioning, viable democracy and we’ll back you. Instead, the military elite squandered the opportunity and have now brought the country to the brink of all out chaos and civil war.
Why is freedom such a hard thing to grasp?
Tahrir Square Under Attack: 32 Egyptians Killed, 1,750 Injured in Protests Against Military Rule
Also, read this article about Ms. Kamel, the first female Egyptian presidential candidate, and her claim that the “Egypt army kills hope.”
The Egyptian military is stifling hope for change and cannot be trusted to manage the country’s transition to democracy, the nation’s first female presidential candidate said Tuesday.
She also said she was very concerned a military general was in the presidential race.
“They announced at the beginning that the presidential election will be in April 2012 … and now they announce that it will be in 2013,” Bothaina Kamel, Egyptian presidential candidate told Reuters by telephone.
“We can’t trust the (military) … They kill all of our hope,” said Kamel, who is campaigning on a platform to fight corruption and reduce poverty.
Top generals initially said they would relinquish power six months after the popular uprising, but have extended the transition period to allow political parties to build support before elections.
…
Before her entry into politics, Kamel was a well-known television anchor and radio host.
Her radio call-in show, Eterafat al-Leyali (Night Confessions), was banned by the government on religion grounds and because it damaged the country’s reputation.
Sad we can’t have Bothaina Kamel instead of another Mubarak. Check out the fresh face of freedom!
But we often get denied that which we seek.
I seem to remember a strong surge in Hope here in America a few years ago, followed by a long slow cooling period when no reforms were allowed, no prosecutions occurred, and hope seeped away until the status quo returned to power and continued to strangle the common people. Sometimes the Establishment is a hope and freedom killer. Their version of freedom is a cage in which you waterboard the opposition into submission.
Now, we have a return to mass protests and occupied public squares, because revolution seems to be the only way to force the greedy power lords to share even a fraction of their immense wealth and privileges.