First off- This Saturday I am meeting up with the blogger from The Moor Next Door, so if any of you have questions that you would like me to ask him, just hit me up with that.
Now that I have said that, Here goes my reflection.
I wanted to talk about the film 1/2 Revolution that I went to watch after last Thursday's class. I was not able to stay for the entire film but I was still able to gain a lot from the viewing. If you do not know anything about the uprising in Egypt, then it is good to research before seeing the movie because the movie focuses on the people's emotions and the experience rather than the details of what started this uprising. I was aware and also not aware of what had happened during the uprising in Egypt. I think it is very typical of westerners to view the Middle East as I do. We acknowledge that it is a real place and yet we distance ourselves from the Middle East and from the struggles of the people. We feel a wide range of emotions for the people but we have no empathy for them. It may sound stupid to others who have been more engaged in the Arab Spring, but watching this film was the first time that I had really thought about the struggle that the people had gone through or really felt anything for them. I felt a sense of empathy. Not in the sense that I could relate to them at all, but the thought of my being there and trying to keep my child away from the violence, seeing the people I love injured or killed in the process of fighting for what they believe in, and contemplating if I would be someone who was strong enough to go in the streets and protest. I am inclined to be honest and say that I would be too cowardly to fight, but then again, this is their freedom that they are standing up for...It's hard to grasp the concept of rather dying for a cause than living your life in submission. It is also very easy for us to forget that the US was a supporter of Mubarak....which that idea is still simmering in my head...so I have no other words for that.
Is Democracy always best? Yes, is the immediate answer. When you factor in time and place and how and who the people want, then the answer isn't so cut and dry.
Yay! for Egypt being free!!!...but Oh, they elect someone from the Muslim Brotherhood...right, ummm, yay?
Are we still advocates of democratization when the votes aren't towards people who want to be just like the US?
We can make this same examination of other countries in the Arab Uprising.
From my perspective, I want democracy for all people, but admittedly I want it for them the way that I have it. Their is a difference between the people of these countries and the people who will lead these countries in post-revolution. The people who will lead these countries, most likely, do not like us. Do we still want democracy for these people? Yes, because they are not the people who will lead their country. Does this mean that it is in our interest to try and influence the uprising? Whether or not it is in our interest to intervene...should we?
No....probably not....So we just let these people take control of these countries?
These are not rhetorical questions, as I have said before. I really am looking for some opinions so I can better shape my understanding.
Hi Hannah!
ReplyDeleteThis is really insightful; there is a lot to work with here. To begin, I will address your perspective. We have a pretty weird notion and practice of democracy in the United States. Our democracy is characterized by a partisan deadlock whose actors are chosen by an admittedly imperfect system in which a Wyomingite has four times more of a say than a Californian. Why would you wish that on anyone? I love America, but we should not necessarily think of our political process as a universal prescription for what is good in the world.
One question before I proceed: who is the "we" you are referring to? Is it our class as a part of the larger and self-dubbed "liberal and enlightened" intelligentsia? Or is it the US state?
I think it's fair to say we (the first we I addressed) are advocates of democratization regardless of the results. What would the alternatives be? Intervening to prop up pro-US leaders who may have not been necessarily elected? We've tried this in the past and it has not worked out too well.
If we are truly advocates of democracy, we should support and try to work with whomever our allies elect.
Hey Jake,
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it is insightful so much as a call for help in understanding the US role in the Arab Uprising. I agree with your perspective on America. Our process is imperfect and I don't see our system as a universal prescription.
I am referring to the "liberal and enlightened' intelligentsia, though I did not have a name for it before. I want to make clear that I am thinking separate from the US state and trying develop an outside opinion on what the US state should be doing/ how they should be viewing these developments in the MENA.
I agree with your opinions and I definitely think we can further elaborate on that thought process.