We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Egyptian Summer of 2013

Click here to access article by John Spritzler from NewDemocracyWorld. (Note: the use of the word "bogies"in the article must mean rail cars.)
The power in Egypt remains in the hands of those who want society to be unequal and based on capitalism. The rank and file soldiers, to my knowledge, have not refused orders from the top military generals, but have in fact obeyed those orders. The top military generals are not only the commanders of the military but, somewhat unique to Egypt, are also among the nation's top capitalists, owning key industries not related to military matters, and exploiting the labor of rank and file soldiers among others.
We have here a perfect contemporary illustration of how power mongers still use revolutionary labels to bring themselves to power.