You can't help but be inspired, the crowds, the lights the mass of humanity in the square, it's like a giant party. But when the party is over the work begins - and it is never easy, it is never fun or inspiring.
Revolutions are not pretty, forget Star Wars, forget silly Mel Gibson movies, revolutions tear families apart, pit neighbour against neighbour and usually replace one set of nasty people with another set of nasty people, who make a few cosmetic changes then carry on with business as usual.
Americans today are celebrating one of the worlds rare revolutionary success stories - and even then it was a blood bath that is sometimes referred to as Americas first civil war, with families having members fighting on both sides. It was long, difficult and painful. However the fledgling United States even in 1776 had the building blocks to make it work, ones that still today Egypt lacks.
Ironically inherited from their previous British overseers, a free press, private land ownership, an independent judiciary and a people that were by nature independent and self reliant. With these institutions intact the newly formed United States had the skeletal structure to build the sinews of a free society on. Egypt today has little of that, or at least what it has is truly in it's embryonic stage at best.
Revolutions are not pretty, forget Star Wars, forget silly Mel Gibson movies, revolutions tear families apart, pit neighbour against neighbour and usually replace one set of nasty people with another set of nasty people, who make a few cosmetic changes then carry on with business as usual.
Americans today are celebrating one of the worlds rare revolutionary success stories - and even then it was a blood bath that is sometimes referred to as Americas first civil war, with families having members fighting on both sides. It was long, difficult and painful. However the fledgling United States even in 1776 had the building blocks to make it work, ones that still today Egypt lacks.
Ironically inherited from their previous British overseers, a free press, private land ownership, an independent judiciary and a people that were by nature independent and self reliant. With these institutions intact the newly formed United States had the skeletal structure to build the sinews of a free society on. Egypt today has little of that, or at least what it has is truly in it's embryonic stage at best.
Was it perfect no - Women couldn't vote and slavery existed in many states, and internal violence would persist for over a hundred years as the nation fractured into civil war, reconstituted and underwent a bloody westward expansion. Even with all the right pieces in place for success, it would be a long struggle to peace and prosperity - should we expect any less from say... Egypt.
**(Let us not forget that the US Civil War killed more Americans than World War 1, World War 2, The Korean War, and The Vietnam War COMBINED! The country is still divided by it)
The US was also blessed abundant natural resources, almost immediately after the revolution, it's cotton, timber and other resources were in demand by the nation it had just fought to free itself from. Economically it could recover from conflict better than almost any other nation on earth, then or now.
Egypt by contrast is a country of few if any natural resources, not blessed with oil reserves like many of it's Arab brethren the only real card it holds is it's geography. Located beside the State of Israel it's an important player for peace in the region, and perhaps more importantly the Suez Canal plays a role as a vital strategic waterway.
The hard truth is that without the Suez Canal and it's role in being a peaceful Arab neighbour of Israel, no one would pay attention to it and Egypt would just be another Sudan, but with pyramids.
In it's modern incarnation the Nation of Egypt has never had to stand on it's own, rather than being immediately economically sustainable like the United States, it's always had to have some kind of benefactor. First the British, then post World War Two it leaned towards the Soviet sphere and they pumped into it billions in military and other aid. When Anwar Sadat made peace with Israel they shifted to the US sphere, but kept (with American encouragement) their autocratic form of governance. Today Egypt is one of the largest (I believe the second largest) recipients of US aid. Much of it military. This is the fuel that keeps the Egyptian economy - such as it is - sputtering along. Tourism, which should be a mecca for her will certainly not be helped by recent events.
The role of religion in both societies cannot be understated. For all the show of 'God and Country' the founding fathers of the United States were Christian but not overly evangelical about it. Wanting to avoid the trappings of European monarchies they deliberately avoided having an official state religion. In post revolutionary America, you could worship - or not worship - as you please.
One of the ways over the years Egypt's various strongmen allowed their people to vent steam was in the mosque. As a result, with no history of press freedom, no right to form political opposition parties for so many years, no open debate, most peoples frame of reference for political change is religion, as it was for so long the only other place they could get information from that differed from the state.
Therefore no one should have been surprised when in their first election, a largely rural and semi literate population put in an Islamic leaning government. No one also should have been surprised when therefore it suddenly started actually acting like an Islamic government. However if there is going to eventually be a free and democratic Egyptian society then governments with a 12th century mentality have to be tolerated - and then voted out. Not overthrown, even as sadly currently Coptic Christians are prosecuted and in some cases forcibly converted.
Egypt will not be truly free until religious minorities are able to worship openly, and those who chose to reject all religious faith can do so without fear and repercussion.
1n 1776, the United States began it's journey, it was a long and difficult road. A blessed land it had everything it could ask for in it's favor; from an industrious population, to strong civil and civic institutions and abundant natural resources and yet it still took generations to bring everyone into the fold of a free and open society
How can we expect a country like Egypt with little going for it other than the passion of it's people and foreign aid to move any faster.
