But there's no need for argument because I'm among those intellectuals at whose rush to judgment amuses me. I've done it every day since the uproar began, and I think even gave into it and posted a couple of times. Carrol
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Fair enough. I've been writing almost continueously since I watched January 28 Friday and putting most of it in my journal, praying this become a record of a revolution. (see the battle for the bridge leading to Tahrir) But I struggle to believe it, which echos I hope what's going on in the mass Egyptian mind. They are, I hope just in front of this strange intellectual dilemma where belief and reality merge. And that's what they are teaching me as if by proxy.
And of course who knows, who ever knows the history of tomorrow? All we can do is leap in the imagination, which is a form of prayer or poetry in every battle. It is actually wrong to say that god exists in every foxhole. Prayer exists in every fox hole. Some include god and others don't. I want to believe poetry is somehow the merge of the two worlds.
Anyway the three revolutions that I am constantly thinking about are the French, Russian, and Cuban... and those ancient moments of my youth where the question was always how far and how long can I take the battle ... This turned magically into identification with disability rights which got stalled out in establishment liberal reforms that avoided facing the economic project of the late 70s and and early 80s when neoliberalism was on the consolidation rise.
I want to know how far the Egyptian intellectual class understands these dynamics because that is where the reality of their revolutionary imaginary takes them.
My worry tonight is the Egyptian intellectuals must understand the nature of the elite military and civilian leadership to form a counter-revolution with US and EU intelligence services (old colonial mummies) in conjunction with Egyptian military elites.
My hope is they split the army so the US, EU and Egyptian military elite are isolated from command of the common soldiers, sailors, and pilots of guns, ships, and planes. The goal is to win the lower ranks to stop a possible coup d'etat that follows elite orders.
This revolution in Egypt is moving so fast, I can't think fast enough so I will stop trying...
Malraux once called the early phase of the Spanish Civil War, the lyric illusion in L'espoir but that was after a few hopefull months. Egypt has transported itself through those months into hours. They seem to already be in the lyric illusion---which is the constant threat of actually winning a few battles, even small street ones. ... maybe a land line to somebody in Cuba who has fought and won this phase... just guessing.
The basic question is how do you consolidate the capital? Tahrir is symbolic of the capital, but they now face the larger mass of the city as the brain, lungs, heart of the country. Just keep pumbing on the circulatory system of the roads, rail, and communication. If you can command those vital organs, you can command the body of the country through its urban centers.
Breathless and delusionally yours to Egypt. Dawn is only a few hours away. It has come down to dawn? Another day, just moments into the future...
Dawn, horror of dawn and its sun rising over a warring city. I was in a bus and then a march toward our objective the induction center as the terrible dawn moved over us... hard to imagine its fear and promise... these ancient memories and questions come flooding back to me as the red light washed my face and the tremendous noise we marched toward greeted us.
In Solidarity,
CG