Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Huh, me?!

What's the fastest way to go to jail in Egypt?

By having a political activist friend ask you to join their newly formed committee that will represent the independents in the Youth for Change movement in the Kefaya conference on the 23rd, and you say "Sure".

Absolutely no comment. Abit funny actually! They obviously haven't read my blog. I doubt that I'll last for more than a meeting.

11 comments:

Alina said...

Mohamed, I really don't know much about what's going on in Egypt, politically speaking. So please explain more about this going to jail. Is it really an option or are you being ironic about freedom in your country. I promise I will read more on the subject, but please excuse my ignorance for now!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I'm being abit sarcastic I guess, but it could end up in jail yes (too soon for that though, and you have to do more than just attend meetings). I have two links in the above post to two other relevant posts regarding the same topic. And in this one I talk about Kefaya.

haal said...

I will say sure, join. Why not. As you said, you have to do more than just attending meetings.
Time to be proactive and believing in this country.

Alina said...

Well, take care not to get in jail. But if you must get there, make sure they give you an online computer/laptop so that you can tell us all about it!!! And by saying this I'm not selfish at all! I'm not worried about not having posts and comments to read, I am worried about your well-being! :))

Anonymous said...

Don't worry Kayla. I'm not the kind of guy who goes to jail easily. But thanks for the concern.

MoonLightShadow said...

Umm.. I've got a question. It's not related to ur post, but I feel like asking it.

Which do u think comes first, political education, or a free democratic country where people can make use of their rights?!

Anonymous said...

Is there such a thing as 'political education'? What do you educate them about, how to go about living their lives, and pick the right candidates to represent and govern them? Its not so much education of the people, as involvement of the people I suppose. Having a say in what their lives and future should look like. Education should be about everything but politics I think.

programmer craig said...

I suppose it could work that way, Mohamed. In the United States, elementary and high school history books are full of political philosophies. Also, in high school, most states require taking a Civics class and a Government class - 11th and 12th grade, I believe. In college, political courses are optional, as this education is considered to be a basic requirement for children, and is assumed to be already known by adults in college. Though, I have to say, most Americans have a very crude understanding of their own government. Maybe that's not fair, but it's still my opinion :)

You really don't have any political classes in Egypt?

programmer craig said...

Ah... forgot to answer your question!

>>What do you educate them about

Mostly "Checks and Balances" - setting up a government in such a way that no one person or group has so much power that they cannot be over-ruled by another person or group. There's a lot more to making an effective and accountable democracy than that, but I'd say that is the most important thing.

Al Sharief said...

"Checks and Balances", though sounding too american to fit around this part of the world, it would be helpful to teach all nowadays egypt's activists and even party leaders. The highlight is the good old saying that :
Power corrupts & Abslute Power corrupts abslutly..

MoonLightShadow said...

Is there such a thing as 'political education'?

Yeah, I guess there is such a thing. At least to give people the basics of how to contribute. Give them the basic definitions of political terms which they don't understand.

I'm talking about the majority of Egyptian people. Those who don't know the difference between elections and referendums.

Name it political education, name it political awareness, whatever.