This is not investigative reporting. These are legal forensics revealing the hands that robbed him of a second term. And these hands are not what is publicly peddled. Not by the Clintonites. But by a UN Charter full of gaps and contradictions.
Looking at the Charter, you discover that it is not what we teach at law schools. At Fordham Law (New York) I focus on the words. Analyzing not the provisions. But why those provisions drafted in 1945 belong to a museum. Not to the world of 21st Century. Since 1965, Boutros-Ghali and I discussed this at length.
First, the term "peace-keeping" does not appear in the Charter, a Second World War document. In San Francisco, the allies of the war were believed to maintain their cooperation in the post-war years. They did not. The cold war inherited that world. Completely nullifying Article 47 which provides for "a Military Staff Committee." You cannot pool your military expertise with your adversary.
That vacuum was provisionally filled by Dag Hammarskjold. That was his response to the tripartite aggression on Egypt by Israel, France and Great Britain in 1956. The "Blue Helmets" were born not in the Security Council Chamber, but in Port Said. The helmets were painted blue, the UN color, in Italy.
Expanded in the Congo of 1960, "the Blue Helmets" was a huge flop. Across one of the rivers, an Italian contingent was massacred by Lumumba supporters. Calling for help by an Irish contingent a few miles across that river, the Irish did not respond. Not because of cowardice. But because the Italian signal could not be understood. Why? No pre-planned training in peace-keeping, including signal unification, could be held. Until today.
That chaos resulting from Charter dysfunction reached the shores of Yugoslavia as it was breaking up. It also engulfed Rwanda. The Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina were ethnically cleansed. A million Tutsis were massacred. Security Council resolutions, as expected, proved to be hollow moralizing.
Second: Not only was the Security Council failing in its Charter-outlined duties. It was ironically expanding its jurisdiction in areas prevented to it by other Charter provisions. Article 2, para. 7 prohibits intervention in "matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State." Fine. Although each State decides those matters as it pleases.
Now here comes the kicker!! Later the same provision regarding respect for sovereignty takes a turn to a dead end street. It says: "But this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures under Chapter VII (i.e. on sanctions)."
Guess who decides on sanctions?! A no veto by any of the Big Five (US/UK/France/Russia/China) plus 4 non permanents (total non-permanents is 10). So you now have a system where the 5 permanents agree on selecting a State to be sanctioned (couldn't be one of their proteges). World justice disappears when you have selectivity. Inequality before the law. Easy to sanction an Iraq or a Libya, or an Iran or a Sudan. No Big Power umbrella. No powerful uncle or Godfather.
With no hope in reforming the Security Council, the Council turned its gaze to individuals within sovereign States. Came up with "the travel ban" on individuals without serving advance notices. Also without hopes of reviewing the list of banned individuals. Creating islands of Guantanamo-style preserves without the torture additive.
So you now have two UN systems in one: the General Assembly (akin to a House of Commons), and a Security Council (akin to a House of Lords - the Permanents). But the GA resolutions are a mere wish list -no enforcement mechanism. And the House of Five Lords is the only body which can take decisions. But selectively. Pick and choose. If there is a tie, say an Afghanistan, then a new non-Charter mechanism called "a Presidential statement" has been put in place. Does not even have the teeth of an executive order.
In the thick of this mess, stands the Secretary-General. The most neutral body in the world organization is the UN Secretariat. I have served there for 32 years. The Secretariat is on duty 24/7, serves all UN Member States on an equal footing, and provides data and mission reports for guidance of the SG and, through him, to the entire membership.
But speaking of the Secretary-General, you have to be careful which SG you mean. There are two of them in the same body: An executive SG and a political SG. The former is covered by Article 98; the latter by Article 99.
And within Article 99, I find the problems faced by Boutros-Ghali. That article is the real separator between the League of Nations, and its presumed continuity in the UN of the San Francisco Charter. Better to quote here its text:
"The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."
Thus the political Secretary-General is born through the mid-wifery of Article 99. Armed with the big word "MAY" -meaning "discretion." Theoretically this is a form of power-sharing. A power sharing expressed by Boutros-Ghali in what he inadvertently called "The Sixth Veto." You see, Boutros-Ghali was not a politician; he was a lecturer in international law. Ministering to a collection of rowdy States which, especially the U.S. resented his threatened intrusion into their power preserve.
He was conscious of the political pitfalls. But deeply felt that the Charter, though deficient, could be reformed through "political ijtihad" -interpreting broadly, through common sense, the existing text which cannot be easily revised.
His honeymoon with the Clinton administration was brief. And Afghanistan, not ex-Yugoslavia or Rwanda, was the issue that unleashed the venom of Albright, the then America's UN Permanent Representative. Those were the early 1990's. With both Clinton and his rivals, the Republican Robert Dole, finding in the UN an easy target to prove a nationalist point. That America shall not be legislated to by an UN where anti-American feelings ran high.
French support for Boutros-Ghali could not match a Clinton administration that saw in Boutros-Ghali an advocate of a UN which is not subservient to Washington's diktat.
The great theoretician Boutros-Ghali who was a close friend of mine for 50 years, lost. Through its fossilized nature, the Charter favored the Clintonite politics. That iconic thinker lost the battle for a second term. And was succeeded by a politician, Kofi Annan, who had no problem staying for two terms.
Kofi Annan was chosen to appease African UN membership for jettisoning an African -Boutros-Ghali. From the Big Powers point of view, an appeaser, Annan, instead of a confrontationist Boutros-Ghali. A manager in the place of a thinker. A typical play within the play!!
In Boutros-Ghali's failure to gain a second term, I find a strong echo of Dag Hammarskjold. Their commonality of approaching the Charter is clear. Hammarskjold stood his ground in 1960; had Khrushchev bang his shoe on the table at the General Assembly. Shouting to the S.G. "IRHAL" (Leave). And a year later, in 1961, the white regime of Rhodesia was suspected of causing his plane to fall from the sky.
Boutros-Ghali also stood the same grounds. Advocated reform of the Security Council and ran afoul of Washington. But he kept his promise to his own convictions: idealism not reflected in the political world of rough and tumble in the world of the Glass House by the East River, in New York.
In 1992, in his office on the 38th floor, he privately asked me: "Do you wish to return to serve? Haven't you enjoyed 6 years of retirement?" "No, Boutros," I said. "I have left this cage. Now breathing freedom on the outside. Lots of options."
His silent but approving smile guided me to the exit. It is difficult, in fact impossible, to forget neither his ideas and ideals. Nor that quiet but knowing smile and innate wisdom. A second term was a passing episode in a life which shall always enrich the world he left behind.
And there is more. More to the Boutros-Ghali saga. The media say that he lobbied for the post. Dead wrong. Africa lobbied him for the post at an African summit. Mobutu, then Congo (Zaire) President, motioned to him and whispered: "The Anglo-phone Africans want to nominate one of them. You are our Franco-phone candidate."
Taken aback, Boutros-Ghali responded: "What would President Mubarak say?" Mobuto winked and said: "I shall call Mubarak!!" And he did. Then the game was on. How do I know that? From the lips of Boutros-Ghali in Mexico City. He had invited me to join him there for personal and confidential consultations. That was before Mitterand, as President of France threw in his heavy political weight, tipping the scales for Boutros-Ghali as UN SG.
Yet through the debacle of the Clinton animosity, forged in the crucible of an old and tattered UN Charter, the process of nominating a UN Secretary-General is at long last about to change. The effort is aiming at breaking the strangle hold of the Big Five on that closed medieval method of nomination. A method whereby the General Assembly is a mere rubber stamp for what the Big Five agree upon in private consultations.
That is the process which sank the ship of nominating Tanzania's Ahmed Salem, in the early 1980's, to replace Kurt Waldheim of Austria. Waldheim, later found to be a former Nazi operative in Greece, was running for an unheard of third term. Salem was his opponent.
America vetoed the Salem nomination. His sin? Dancing in the GA aisles upon the the admission of mainland China to its rightful seat at the UN.
China vetoed Waldheim. And the deadlock continued. For 16 ballots. Salem, in our frequent meetings, would laughingly say "Waldheim has no chance. The process is broken." Finally De Cuellar of Peru was called from a beach resort to occupy the post as a final compromise. Boutros-Ghali followed, in spite of early American misgivings.
In his book "Unvanquished," Boutros-Ghali stressed what the Charter could not accommodate: dedication for being a Secretary-General who dared defy a big power armed with a veto. And no meaningful reform of the council is at present possible.
If I were to write an epitaph for Boutros-Ghali, I would say: "HERE LIES A LEADER WHO SACRIFICED A WORLDLY POSITION FOR WORLD'S PRINCIPLES." Rest in peace, my friend.
May his soul rest in peace. His Egypt bade him farewell in the most celebrating manner -A military/State funeral. For he was a true combatant for his motherland, and for the cause of a universal Rule of Law.
Friday, February 26, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
Thinking Out of the Box: Framing A Theory On "The Egyptian Mind"
Political Theory is a unique specialization. One of my areas of concentrations. Primarily it teaches you two things: Thinking "out of the box;" and framing your arguments for possible durability. People remember ideas longer than they remember events.
With this said, here is the framing of a theory. A theory on "The Egyptian Mind." Like all theories, it cannot be perfectly encompassing. And it usually provokes lots of pros and of cons. The grist that may in future produce better flour.
I begin with an apology to the great Greek historian Herodote (or Herodotus). Born in 485 B.C., and died in 425 B.C. That is nearly five centuries before Christ. Visiting Egypt, he coined a memorable phrase. "Egypt Is the Gift of the Nile." True. But, from my perspective, and on my way to a possible theory on "The Egyptian Mind," this is only one side of the coin.
The other side is: "The Nile Is the Gift of Egypt." Through worship of natural resources; great engineering throughout its 6500 kilometers length from Lake Victoria to Damietta and Rosetta; unity of its people, especially from the Sudanese borders to the Mediterranean; and ready acceptance of what tomorrow will bring, either a high flood or a low flood. The most important predictors of 10,000 years of Egyptian recorded history is not "weather forecasting," but Nile forecasting.
Noting the above, I was galvanized to embark on this theory, because of one recent historic event. I heard that Egypt is concerned about the beard of King Tut.
In August 2014, someone touched King Tut's beard. At the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the mausoleum of Egypt's DNA. The King's gold mask suffered. The beard detached. Panic struck. The soul of Egypt was bruised. Egyptian museum officials, incompetently tried to glue it back on. A botched repair. Eight Egyptian museum officials were carted off to appear before Egypt's Administrative Prosecutor.
A trial is expected. With direct testimony from Egypt's Heritage Task Force -an initiative to protect the nation's cultural heritage. A heritage for which a mammoth Grand Egyptian Museum, under construction near the Giza pyramids, shall in 2018 replace the Museum at Tahrir. To the cost of nearly $1 Billion.
This is an aspect of "The Egyptian Mind" at work. Egypt is not Syria, where Palmyra is destroyed. Not Iraq, where the mobs in 2003 carted off the treasures of great Mesopotamia. Is not Afghanistan, where the Taliban destroyed the Bamian Buddhist temples.
When the January 25 Revolution ignited from Tahrir in 2011, calling on Mubarak to leave, the Egyptian Museum was about to be attacked by the mobs.
Egged on by the Muslim Brotherhood after the Camel Battle of January 28. For the Brotherhood, Egyptian antiquities are mere idols, non-Islamic. Then we saw the Egyptian mind in full drive: The army which stood silently to protect the Revolution swung into action at the Museum. So did the Museum's employees. For that was the House of Egypt -a gift to the whole world.
So what makes Egypt tick? What is the make-up of "The Egyptian Mind?" What goes into it, and what comes out of it? What are the tentative elements of this attempt at a theory? Let us here try the notion of a rectangle -with all four sides equal.
First: Belief in a Super Being, without exclusions;
Second: A spontaneous commitment to the State and its security;
Third: An ingrained belief that adversity can only be temporary; and
Fourth: An ethos of "Egyptianness," not to be commingled with Arabism. -a sense of exceptionalism reflected in national folklore.
First: Belief in the Almighty is the first fabric in Egypt's historical tapestry. As a tapestry, it is woven from multi-color threads. Reflecting the unique geography of Egypt as a connector between 3 continents. When that fabric is disturbed, Egypt goes back to smooth it all over again.
The hand that smooths that fabric is guided by the principle of the oneness of God. In Islamic terminology, it is "Tawheed." Didn't begin with Islam, but with Akhenaton -Father of King Tut. The multiplicity of deities was replaced by one. How did this faith reflect itself? In the monuments. The obelisk, that monolithic pillar that terminates in a pyramid, tells us something about The Egyptian Mind. Though the pyramid building age was gone, the pyramid could not be abandoned. The soul of Egypt lives on, though in a different manifestation.
For Egypt, eternity is not a hope. It is a creed. Moses was an Egyptian; the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph sought refuge for four years in Egypt. From the Delta to Cairo to Wadi el-Natroun. Then up the Nile, south to Mallawi and Asyut. With the arrival of the Muslims in the middle of the 7th century, the first Executive Order was issued from Medina by the Caliph Omar, to his general, Amr. "Don't touch their churches. Don't seek conversion."
Those instructions held fast. The Amr capital in the Cairo area was called Fustat, founded in 641 AD. Fragments from Fustat give glimpses of a cosmopolitan old Cairo. Polyglot, multi-confessional, and prosperous.
Centuries later, the Muslim Brotherhood (2012-2013) toyed with that fabric. Under the guise of Islamism, they caused the Copts great anxiety. They lost, and El-Sisi, as President, was seen, on January 7, at the St. Mark Cathedral celebrating the Orthodox Christmas. In 2015 and again in 2016. How assuring!!
Contrast this to the Islamists injunction: "Don't even say Merry Christmas!!" This is while the Quran refers to Jesus as born of immaculate conception. And the only woman glorified in the Quran is the Virgin Mary. Her apparitions continue to attract thousands of Egyptians, of whatever faith, to inspirational moments of adoration.
Except for Lebanon, Egypt is the only country in the Middle East which has the Coptic Christmas a national holiday. The only country in the world which has a mass political party, Al-Wafd, hoisting its symbol of a Crescent hugging the Cross.
Even the name of the country has its origins in faith. Tradition holds that its origins are Greek. With due respect and love for Graeco Egypt, it is not the case. The term "Copt" originated from the soil of ancient Egypt before passing into Greek.
It refers to the temple for the ancient Egyptian god, Petah. The most revered among all other deities. Petah had a location. The city of Manf, the first capital of ancient Egypt. Th term "Copt" was later given to the whole country. The Europeans read it as "Agyptus." Guided by the Greeks, the Arabs chose the shortened, but authentic, term "Copt."
Second: The second side of the rectangle of "The Egyptian Mind" is a spontaneous commitment to the State and its security. With the multiplicity of religious roots comes a secular faith called "The State." The slogan "Tahya Misr" (Long Live Egypt) was not born as of January 25, 2011. It goes back 10,000 years ago, though at that dawn of Egyptian history, not voiced in Arabic.
The pyramids stand today for the concept of State stability. Not an epitaph for the Pharaohs. But as eternalizing the State as a builder, an innovator. Hard stone structures, the first of their kind in the world, stood and continue to stand for durability. The sun always sets on them. But rises again. Also symbolizing the first social welfare in the world (the peasants engaged in construction received daily rations); the technologists (the engineer was the royal consultant); and the temples stand below -separating between the State and religion.
With Egypt located between three continents, security became paramount. The country's armed forces are revered: standing for cohesion, safety, security, and individual sacrifice for the nation. Especially when engaged on national soil, such as in the October war of 1973, and in combating today's terrorism. Can't forget the last words of a dying soldier in Sinai: "This is for you Egypt!!" (Alashaaik Ya Misr).
These very words are a decisive rebuttal to those who have made a name for themselves attacking the armed forces. The social media did not make the two revolutions of January 25 and June 30 a success. The armed forces did. Under the leadership of SCAF, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, headed by Field Marshal Tantawi and General Anan, the military guns in Tahrir stayed silent. A silence that roared higher than the chants of a million civilians.
And in June 2014, El-Sisi came to power, not on top of a tank. But through the ballot box. That is after failing to convince Morsi in June 2013 to abide by the national will and face new elections. Reason why The Egyptian Mind discards attacks on the authenticity of Egypt's choice of leaders. As it rejects the falsehood that the armed forces have their parallel economy -imputing unaccountability.
My words here are borrowed from the World Bank as corroborated by other sources of fact-checked statistics:
Third: The Third side of the rectangle of The Egyptian Mind is an ingrained belief that adversity can only be temporary. Resilience, not advocated, but deeply felt. National catastrophes, like the war of 1967 when Egypt's air force was totally destroyed by the Israeli attack, was recorded as "a setback." Six years later, the score were made even. And when the food riots erupted in February 1977, as a result of withdrawal of government subsidies for basics, the International Monetary Fund was debunked. And nearly 20 years earlier, when the U.S. and the World Bank reneged on premises to fund the Aswan Dam project, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal company.
On the matter of the Aswan Dam funding, Egypt did not nationalize the Canal as uninformed world press asserted. The Canal is sovereign territory, meaning that you do not nationalize what you own. The company was a different matter. Yet nationalization of the company cost the share holders, mostly foreign, nothing. Those shares were fully compensated by Egypt at their fair market value.
And here emerges another facet of resilience as an impulse of "The Egyptian Mind." Respect of treaties. In March 1979, a peace treaty was concluded in Washington, D.C. between Egypt (one third of all Arabs) and Israel. Nearly all Arab States retaliated by isolating Egypt. The League of Arab States, moved its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis. But Egyptian resilience had a voice. In Sadat's voice, the response was "Egypt is a country which isolates; it is not subject to isolation." A few years later, the Egyptian peace theory prevailed. And the League was back to its birthplace.
It is challenging to attempt a listing of factors for that belief that adversity can only be a passing cloud. But a few of these factors may be highlighted as a framework for resilience:
Four Egyptian languages: Arabic, Coptic, Nubian and Berber (in Siwa). An early children teaching that "you are part ancient Egyptian, part Arab." An educational system, though ineffectual, but still clings to teaching English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and as of late, Russian. Farsi and Hebrew are also taught. Diverse cuisines, from Molokhiyyah (green soup), eaten by Ancient Egypt, to grilled meat kebabs and kofta, and of course, falafel.
And a bewildering array of dress, from that of a mayor (Omdah) to a western-looking young woman pilot of Egyptair. Together with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable borders -the coastline, of 1555 miles on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Exceptionalism is also prominent in song, dance, films, the theater and the arts. All protected by constitutional provisions of the secular document of 2014. Including the popular song for the Armed Forces on July 3, 2013: "May God Bless the Hands of Our Armed Forces." A failing attempt to negate it by the Muslim Brotherhood "May the Hands of Our Armed Forces Be Paralyzed." Antagonism and non-belonging to "The Egyptian Mind."
And the head of the Coptic Church, Pope Theododros II of Alexandria was a pharmacist. While the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, is a graduate of the Sorbonne in France.
We cannot exit this text without reference to the sense of Egyptian humor. Especially when quoted from a President and an Egyptian Coptic Pope:
"Upon Jesus birth, so was mercy born;
good deeds, heavenly guidance and eternal life.
No threats, no temporal might, no revenge;
no sword, no invasion, no blood.
In his love and adoration;
great disciples bowed their heads."
"The Egyptian Mind" retains the adage "Misr Umm El-Donia" (Egypt Is the World's Mother.) It also retains the Coptic prayer inherited from the Saints "Blessed Be My People - Egypt." And how would it forget that the Quran mentions Egypt by name 5 times in no less than 4 Chapters. Including a verse which greets all of arrivals at the Cairo International Airports: "If God pleases, enter Egypt in safety." (Chapter 12, from verse 99.)
From faith, we conclude with high diplomacy. Indicative of "The Egyptian Mind." An exchange between two giants, not yet reported before anywhere.
Concerned about Egypt's professional representation at the UN Secretariat, the great Foreign Minister, Dr. Mahmoud Fawzi went in the early 1950s to see the best-ever UN Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjold. The S.G. asked: "Mahmoud: How do you qualify an Egyptian fit to serve here." Without hesitation, Fawzi responded: "Regardless of faith or affiliation, or gender, that individual should intimately reflect Egypt as a unique civilization."
An example of "The Egyptian Mind" in full view on the world stage. As defined by Mahmoud Fawzi, the Godfather of the Egyptian School of Diplomacy. A school that suffered no interruption since 1922, come "Hell or High Water!!"
With this said, here is the framing of a theory. A theory on "The Egyptian Mind." Like all theories, it cannot be perfectly encompassing. And it usually provokes lots of pros and of cons. The grist that may in future produce better flour.
I begin with an apology to the great Greek historian Herodote (or Herodotus). Born in 485 B.C., and died in 425 B.C. That is nearly five centuries before Christ. Visiting Egypt, he coined a memorable phrase. "Egypt Is the Gift of the Nile." True. But, from my perspective, and on my way to a possible theory on "The Egyptian Mind," this is only one side of the coin.
The other side is: "The Nile Is the Gift of Egypt." Through worship of natural resources; great engineering throughout its 6500 kilometers length from Lake Victoria to Damietta and Rosetta; unity of its people, especially from the Sudanese borders to the Mediterranean; and ready acceptance of what tomorrow will bring, either a high flood or a low flood. The most important predictors of 10,000 years of Egyptian recorded history is not "weather forecasting," but Nile forecasting.
Noting the above, I was galvanized to embark on this theory, because of one recent historic event. I heard that Egypt is concerned about the beard of King Tut.
In August 2014, someone touched King Tut's beard. At the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the mausoleum of Egypt's DNA. The King's gold mask suffered. The beard detached. Panic struck. The soul of Egypt was bruised. Egyptian museum officials, incompetently tried to glue it back on. A botched repair. Eight Egyptian museum officials were carted off to appear before Egypt's Administrative Prosecutor.
A trial is expected. With direct testimony from Egypt's Heritage Task Force -an initiative to protect the nation's cultural heritage. A heritage for which a mammoth Grand Egyptian Museum, under construction near the Giza pyramids, shall in 2018 replace the Museum at Tahrir. To the cost of nearly $1 Billion.
This is an aspect of "The Egyptian Mind" at work. Egypt is not Syria, where Palmyra is destroyed. Not Iraq, where the mobs in 2003 carted off the treasures of great Mesopotamia. Is not Afghanistan, where the Taliban destroyed the Bamian Buddhist temples.
When the January 25 Revolution ignited from Tahrir in 2011, calling on Mubarak to leave, the Egyptian Museum was about to be attacked by the mobs.
Egged on by the Muslim Brotherhood after the Camel Battle of January 28. For the Brotherhood, Egyptian antiquities are mere idols, non-Islamic. Then we saw the Egyptian mind in full drive: The army which stood silently to protect the Revolution swung into action at the Museum. So did the Museum's employees. For that was the House of Egypt -a gift to the whole world.
So what makes Egypt tick? What is the make-up of "The Egyptian Mind?" What goes into it, and what comes out of it? What are the tentative elements of this attempt at a theory? Let us here try the notion of a rectangle -with all four sides equal.
First: Belief in a Super Being, without exclusions;
Second: A spontaneous commitment to the State and its security;
Third: An ingrained belief that adversity can only be temporary; and
Fourth: An ethos of "Egyptianness," not to be commingled with Arabism. -a sense of exceptionalism reflected in national folklore.
First: Belief in the Almighty is the first fabric in Egypt's historical tapestry. As a tapestry, it is woven from multi-color threads. Reflecting the unique geography of Egypt as a connector between 3 continents. When that fabric is disturbed, Egypt goes back to smooth it all over again.
The hand that smooths that fabric is guided by the principle of the oneness of God. In Islamic terminology, it is "Tawheed." Didn't begin with Islam, but with Akhenaton -Father of King Tut. The multiplicity of deities was replaced by one. How did this faith reflect itself? In the monuments. The obelisk, that monolithic pillar that terminates in a pyramid, tells us something about The Egyptian Mind. Though the pyramid building age was gone, the pyramid could not be abandoned. The soul of Egypt lives on, though in a different manifestation.
For Egypt, eternity is not a hope. It is a creed. Moses was an Egyptian; the holy family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph sought refuge for four years in Egypt. From the Delta to Cairo to Wadi el-Natroun. Then up the Nile, south to Mallawi and Asyut. With the arrival of the Muslims in the middle of the 7th century, the first Executive Order was issued from Medina by the Caliph Omar, to his general, Amr. "Don't touch their churches. Don't seek conversion."
Those instructions held fast. The Amr capital in the Cairo area was called Fustat, founded in 641 AD. Fragments from Fustat give glimpses of a cosmopolitan old Cairo. Polyglot, multi-confessional, and prosperous.
Centuries later, the Muslim Brotherhood (2012-2013) toyed with that fabric. Under the guise of Islamism, they caused the Copts great anxiety. They lost, and El-Sisi, as President, was seen, on January 7, at the St. Mark Cathedral celebrating the Orthodox Christmas. In 2015 and again in 2016. How assuring!!
Contrast this to the Islamists injunction: "Don't even say Merry Christmas!!" This is while the Quran refers to Jesus as born of immaculate conception. And the only woman glorified in the Quran is the Virgin Mary. Her apparitions continue to attract thousands of Egyptians, of whatever faith, to inspirational moments of adoration.
Except for Lebanon, Egypt is the only country in the Middle East which has the Coptic Christmas a national holiday. The only country in the world which has a mass political party, Al-Wafd, hoisting its symbol of a Crescent hugging the Cross.
Even the name of the country has its origins in faith. Tradition holds that its origins are Greek. With due respect and love for Graeco Egypt, it is not the case. The term "Copt" originated from the soil of ancient Egypt before passing into Greek.
It refers to the temple for the ancient Egyptian god, Petah. The most revered among all other deities. Petah had a location. The city of Manf, the first capital of ancient Egypt. Th term "Copt" was later given to the whole country. The Europeans read it as "Agyptus." Guided by the Greeks, the Arabs chose the shortened, but authentic, term "Copt."
Second: The second side of the rectangle of "The Egyptian Mind" is a spontaneous commitment to the State and its security. With the multiplicity of religious roots comes a secular faith called "The State." The slogan "Tahya Misr" (Long Live Egypt) was not born as of January 25, 2011. It goes back 10,000 years ago, though at that dawn of Egyptian history, not voiced in Arabic.
The pyramids stand today for the concept of State stability. Not an epitaph for the Pharaohs. But as eternalizing the State as a builder, an innovator. Hard stone structures, the first of their kind in the world, stood and continue to stand for durability. The sun always sets on them. But rises again. Also symbolizing the first social welfare in the world (the peasants engaged in construction received daily rations); the technologists (the engineer was the royal consultant); and the temples stand below -separating between the State and religion.
With Egypt located between three continents, security became paramount. The country's armed forces are revered: standing for cohesion, safety, security, and individual sacrifice for the nation. Especially when engaged on national soil, such as in the October war of 1973, and in combating today's terrorism. Can't forget the last words of a dying soldier in Sinai: "This is for you Egypt!!" (Alashaaik Ya Misr).
These very words are a decisive rebuttal to those who have made a name for themselves attacking the armed forces. The social media did not make the two revolutions of January 25 and June 30 a success. The armed forces did. Under the leadership of SCAF, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces, headed by Field Marshal Tantawi and General Anan, the military guns in Tahrir stayed silent. A silence that roared higher than the chants of a million civilians.
And in June 2014, El-Sisi came to power, not on top of a tank. But through the ballot box. That is after failing to convince Morsi in June 2013 to abide by the national will and face new elections. Reason why The Egyptian Mind discards attacks on the authenticity of Egypt's choice of leaders. As it rejects the falsehood that the armed forces have their parallel economy -imputing unaccountability.
My words here are borrowed from the World Bank as corroborated by other sources of fact-checked statistics:
- The military's economic share is less than 4% of the gross national product. In Egypt, the farm land is mostly private ownership. But most desert land is owned by the State. In food production, the military have a limited role, mainly confined to subsidized handouts to the poor. An Egyptian version of America's food stamps for the needy. In construction, publicly-owned firms hold 11.5% market share. The private sector holds 88.84%.
- Of course, there are, as should be, strategic exceptions. Connected to security and national stability considerations. The prime example is the construction of the second Suez Canal. Inaugurated in August 2015, but funded entirely by subscriptions for shares spreading the ownership throughout the populace.
- And under the stewardship of former Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawi, certain infrastructure projects were allocated to the military. For reasons of quick execution at a low cost. Total value reached 5.5 billion Egyptian pounds ($1=LEG 7.83) A figure constituting only 10% of public investment in fiscal 2014-2015.
Third: The Third side of the rectangle of The Egyptian Mind is an ingrained belief that adversity can only be temporary. Resilience, not advocated, but deeply felt. National catastrophes, like the war of 1967 when Egypt's air force was totally destroyed by the Israeli attack, was recorded as "a setback." Six years later, the score were made even. And when the food riots erupted in February 1977, as a result of withdrawal of government subsidies for basics, the International Monetary Fund was debunked. And nearly 20 years earlier, when the U.S. and the World Bank reneged on premises to fund the Aswan Dam project, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal company.
On the matter of the Aswan Dam funding, Egypt did not nationalize the Canal as uninformed world press asserted. The Canal is sovereign territory, meaning that you do not nationalize what you own. The company was a different matter. Yet nationalization of the company cost the share holders, mostly foreign, nothing. Those shares were fully compensated by Egypt at their fair market value.
And here emerges another facet of resilience as an impulse of "The Egyptian Mind." Respect of treaties. In March 1979, a peace treaty was concluded in Washington, D.C. between Egypt (one third of all Arabs) and Israel. Nearly all Arab States retaliated by isolating Egypt. The League of Arab States, moved its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis. But Egyptian resilience had a voice. In Sadat's voice, the response was "Egypt is a country which isolates; it is not subject to isolation." A few years later, the Egyptian peace theory prevailed. And the League was back to its birthplace.
It is challenging to attempt a listing of factors for that belief that adversity can only be a passing cloud. But a few of these factors may be highlighted as a framework for resilience:
- An ancient cradle of civilization
- Many Egypts from the Mediterranean to the aquatic Red Sea; to the sacred heart of Egypt at Luxor; to Egypt's front garden at the Fayoum oasis
- Moderate climate
- Vast desserts east and west ready for reclamation
- Readiness to do with fewer amenities. Lunch could be a loaf of bread, a piece of cheese, an onion, and a glass of sweet tea
- And the Nile shall always flow regardless of hydropolitics in eastern Africa. If not the Blue Nile, then the White Nile in cooperation with the Sudan. What can go wrong?!
Four Egyptian languages: Arabic, Coptic, Nubian and Berber (in Siwa). An early children teaching that "you are part ancient Egyptian, part Arab." An educational system, though ineffectual, but still clings to teaching English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and as of late, Russian. Farsi and Hebrew are also taught. Diverse cuisines, from Molokhiyyah (green soup), eaten by Ancient Egypt, to grilled meat kebabs and kofta, and of course, falafel.
And a bewildering array of dress, from that of a mayor (Omdah) to a western-looking young woman pilot of Egyptair. Together with a focus on protecting the most vulnerable borders -the coastline, of 1555 miles on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Exceptionalism is also prominent in song, dance, films, the theater and the arts. All protected by constitutional provisions of the secular document of 2014. Including the popular song for the Armed Forces on July 3, 2013: "May God Bless the Hands of Our Armed Forces." A failing attempt to negate it by the Muslim Brotherhood "May the Hands of Our Armed Forces Be Paralyzed." Antagonism and non-belonging to "The Egyptian Mind."
And the head of the Coptic Church, Pope Theododros II of Alexandria was a pharmacist. While the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, is a graduate of the Sorbonne in France.
We cannot exit this text without reference to the sense of Egyptian humor. Especially when quoted from a President and an Egyptian Coptic Pope:
- Sadat was once told that Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir was hurling accusations at Egypt. His laughing response: "What do you expect from an ugly looking woman?" Later was a topic of laughter in 1977 between the two leaders.
- The great scholar, the late Pope Shenouda III, and hailing from southern Egypt (Al-Ssaaeed) put this question to a group of his listeners (including me): "Do you know why God created the Egyptians of southern Egypt?" No answer from the audience. The Pope provided the humorous answer: "For comic relief!!"
"Upon Jesus birth, so was mercy born;
good deeds, heavenly guidance and eternal life.
No threats, no temporal might, no revenge;
no sword, no invasion, no blood.
In his love and adoration;
great disciples bowed their heads."
"The Egyptian Mind" retains the adage "Misr Umm El-Donia" (Egypt Is the World's Mother.) It also retains the Coptic prayer inherited from the Saints "Blessed Be My People - Egypt." And how would it forget that the Quran mentions Egypt by name 5 times in no less than 4 Chapters. Including a verse which greets all of arrivals at the Cairo International Airports: "If God pleases, enter Egypt in safety." (Chapter 12, from verse 99.)
From faith, we conclude with high diplomacy. Indicative of "The Egyptian Mind." An exchange between two giants, not yet reported before anywhere.
Concerned about Egypt's professional representation at the UN Secretariat, the great Foreign Minister, Dr. Mahmoud Fawzi went in the early 1950s to see the best-ever UN Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjold. The S.G. asked: "Mahmoud: How do you qualify an Egyptian fit to serve here." Without hesitation, Fawzi responded: "Regardless of faith or affiliation, or gender, that individual should intimately reflect Egypt as a unique civilization."
An example of "The Egyptian Mind" in full view on the world stage. As defined by Mahmoud Fawzi, the Godfather of the Egyptian School of Diplomacy. A school that suffered no interruption since 1922, come "Hell or High Water!!"
Friday, February 5, 2016
A Mini Interpretive Dictionary of American Elections Vocabulary. Here Follow A Text As Well As A Sub-Text
There is nothing more boring than dictionaries. They are not for bedtime reading. Learners reach for them only when obliged to verify a word. This blog posting is ipso facto boring. But necessary to explain, selectively, the American lexicon in this year of electioneering. Here follows my mini political dictionary of American elections oratory.
"Live Free or Die:" It is the motto of the State of New Hampshire. A liberal state, known as a "blue color State." Were it conservative, it would have been categorized "a red color State." Like most of the southern states which still call "the Civil war," the "war between the States," with a capital letter (S).
"The Hawkeye State:" Reference is made here to the state of Iowa. A rural state in the Midwest. Where 64% of its inhabitants are evangelicals. You might as well call the evangelicals the near equivalent of the Muslim Brotherhood. Except that they do not engage in physical violence. That is where the primary elections for both the Democrats and the Republicans are first waged.
"The Primaries:" Are intended as boxing matches and are held between the multiple candidates of the two main parties. Determining the viability, meaning "the electability" of a candidate. Leading the winner to be the party nominee. Weeding out the political chaff from the wheat. Like giving the American voter a test run of a new car before committing to buying it.
"An Establishment Candidate:" Is someone who had prior political experience. As a senator, a governor, or an ambassador. This year, if you are an establishment candidate, you are not a favorite of those newly -participating in the elections process. Call it a generational gap; an educational gap; or a regional gap. Gaps here are the sluices (sliding gates) where rage about government pours out. This year in America, is definitely a year of rage.
"A Future To Believe In:" A mantra by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Fashioned after Obama's winning political motto of 2008 "Yes We Can," and "Change You Can Trust." Reference is to the general perception that "Government lies." An innuendo about the CIA fabricating the news about Saddam's ownership of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
"Projecting High Turn Out:" Refers to total uncertainty about the percentage of those eligible to vote casting their ballots. In Iowa, the percentage of youth (defined in America as between the ages of 18 and 30) who stayed at home in recent elections ((caucus) days) was a whopping 84%.
"A Razor-Edge Margin:" In the American system, a fraction of one percentage of voters for a candidate satisfies for putting the winner on top. Winner takes all. Avoids the Italian or French fractional representation. At the Iowa caucuses, Hillary Clinton won by 49.8% caucus-chosen delegates; her opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders, got 49.6%. A razor thin difference. To cover that defeat, Sanders called it "virtual tie." Made the Hillary camp laugh saying: "There is no such term. A win is a win is a win."
"Caucusing:" A special form of politically choosing through a meeting of an elective party committee. Caucuses are all about local politics. Giving the nation a pre-warning of what might emerge through national elections for president this November. A form of participatory democracy.
More on "Caucusing:" Is it fit for the Arab world? Such as in Egypt of Tunisia? No!! Primary reason: America began from localities; the Arab States began from centralism.
"Identity Politics:" Refer primarily to age, not race. Identity is with issues, not with minority interest and majority interest. Determination by age keeps America on a consistent political course, regardless of the changing demographics. This helps political stability, since by 2030, the whites in America shall slide downward to 45% of the populace. "Equality Before the Law," as based on the enduring Constitution with its amendments, is America's governance safety net.
"Conservative versus Liberal:" Terms primarily used by contenders for the Democratic Party nomination. Now, with the elimination process, it is between Hillary and Bernie. Pushed Hillary to the left, forcing her to call herself "progressive centrist." Whatever this means. Her new appellations are not in her favor. Sanders has stayed, for the past 20 years, his ideological course for "a socialist revolution." But causing the Clinton camp to accuse him of "sloganeering." Bill Clinton came to his wife's rescue saying: "Talk is cheap. America needs Hillary. She gets things done."
"A Socialist Revolution:" A political description of Sander's political message. Used against him by the Clinton campaign. In essence, the Sanders message is nothing but continuity from the days of Franklin Roosevelt. It means no turning away from the system of social security and of strict banking regulation. But Sanders pushes the envelope further. In the direction of free education for all. (In Egypt, this is called the Taha Hussein philosophy: "Education is as essential as water and air."
"Robotic:" A robot is pre-programmed. Nothing comes out except what is put in. An insult addressed to Hillary (by the Republicans), and to Marco Rubio (by his Republican opponents, and democratic haters).
"From Day One:" A cliche promise by Republican contenders, promising swift action once in the Oval Office. Too impractical for implementation; provides high expectations which threaten the credibility of a new president. The occupant of the Oval Office is not a push-button executive. Hemmed in by checks and balances and by precedents.
"With all due respect:" Watch out!! Your opponent is about to tear your views apart. It is only a facilitator to a determined denial of the accuracy of what that political opponent stands for.
"My competitor would make a great vice president:" A put down by an opponent seeking the presidency. Wanting to say: "My adversary comes below me in authority and stature. I am way ahead."
"This is an awesome non-answer:" A description of the alleged stupidity of an opponent. Generally used in political debates, or for a refusal to answer a question from the media.
"Make America Great Again:" A mantra used by Trump to explain that he is ready to use non-conventional means to conventional American ends of supremacy in a turbulent world. So even when defeated in the Iowa caucus, he prided himself on being new to the game of politics, but ready to rule the U.S. as an accomplished "deal maker." His book, "The Art of the Deal" has been made by his campaign as equivalent to Chairman Mao's Red Book. Yet when defeated in Iowa, the Iowa newspapers headlined: "Dead Clown Walking."
"Donald Trump Isn't Real:" Headlined David Brooks, a nationally-acclaimed New York Times writer. Here are his words against Trump, the champion of banning Muslims from America:
"Trump's whole campaign was based on success breeding success, the citing of self-referential poll victories to justify his own candidacy. How does he justify a campaign built entirely around his own mastery? Can an aggressor like him respond gracefully in the days ahead to self-created failure? His concession speech was an act of pathetic self-delusion."
"You Can't Be a Moderate and a Progressive:" Personally I don't perceive a big difference between the meaning of these two terms. But this is what was said by Sanders in an attack on Hillary Clinton's political philosophy. In the now contested state for a primary win in the liberal state of New Hampshire. Sander's territory where he has what is called in American political lingo "neighborly advantage, home state advantage." Sanders is from Vermont, but his home state borders New Hampshire to the west. Constituting one of "the blue states" of the great region north east of the US, called "New England." With a city in New Hampshire called "Lebanon."
"I am not a politician:" Stands for freshness, innocent of grid-lock chaos in Washington, D.C., and of lying to the public. Fury against the so-called establishment politics has shaken the 2016 races. The New York Times of February 2, headlined: "Electorate Divided in deep disaffection."
"Some of my friends are Muslims:" watch out for what follows. Islamophobia. That is where leadership steps in. For the protection of American values of diversity, and also for concern for American security. On February 3, President Obama visited the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque. Warned Americans not to be "bystanders of bigotry."
What Does All the Above Mean? Democracy has no universally agreed definition. It is a product, that sprouts in various flavors out of the soil of culture. Hence the variables in its political expressions. As evidenced by the foregoing. By the way: Iowa is an American State. Not equivalent to the Egyptian word meaning OK!!
These are doctrinal differences. But there are other differences of a structural nature between an American model of democracy, and, say, an Egyptian model.
In Iowa, Jeb Bush spent $5200, per elector. These are not direct payments. They are largely the cost of staff by the thousands and of media ads.
It is impossible for an Egyptian candidate for public office to spend that kind of money. An Egyptian candidate might offer a pound of fresh meat or of sugar. And for that little gift to a needy public, his Egyptian opponents and media would scream "corruption."
Furthermore, it is unthinkable for an Egyptian candidate to have his family, including wife and mother to join him or her publicly on the stump. Again to Jeb. His mother does, to the point of the media spelling his "momentum" as "momENTUM." And Hillary has her husband, former President Bill Clinton next to her behind a microphone.
Which of the two parties are expected to get the Oval Office as of January 2017? The Democrats. Hillary, not Sanders. He is too shrill, a bit too far to the left. The American electorate tends to be at the center. Hillary, a woman who is expected to follow Obama. From the first ever black President, to the first ever woman President. The voice of both experience and continuity.
Why did I embark on the perilous journey of putting together this mini dictionary? Perilous, because every paragraph supra is subject to challenge. But it is worth it. Because it has an ideological sub-text. Namely that "democracy" cannot be one single paradigm.
Like "The Seven Veils of Eve," you cannot measure democracy outside America by an American yardstick. Applicable also to measuring the observance of human rights in the New Egypt. For the New Egypt is still at: "Sorry For Your Inconvenience, We Are Under Construction." Democracy, including various forms of respect for human rights, is the product of its own environment.
For the purpose of understanding through the study of contrasts. Here are two examples: American media has for long become enamored with severely criticizing Egypt's security forces clearing the sit-ins in public squares in Cairo (Rabaa and Al-Nahdha).
That was in August 2013, following the removal (in fact the recall) of the Muslim Brotherhood reign of Islamic fascism. Compare this to the removal by American federal forces of the illegal occupants of the prairies of Oregon. And remember that Rabaa and Al-Nahdha are not prairies. They are public squares in a very crowded capital of 12 million citizens.
And while you are it, why not examine the way the Egyptian prosecution and judiciary are handling the opposition to the State of law and order of El-Sisi government? In that examination, compare it to an America rightly stressed by 9/11. Erecting the infamous Guantanamo, where the Muslim victims of that dragnet benefited by no due process!!
As Americans, let us never forget: At Guantanamo, the great American values were submerged under the flood waters of two contrived fictions: That Guantanamo is not American soil!! Really? So why do I see on it flying high, not the Cuban flag, but our American flag?
And that at Guantanamo, the Geneva Conventions are considered obsolete and, in any case, not applicable to those Muslim detainees!! You must be kidding!! So why do we recall those conventions when a group of American sailors lost their way recently in the Gulf, were arrested in Iranian waters, and videotaped by their Iranian captors, prior to their release?
Please get real!! The world is one!! So should be the word!! Because words have consequences!! Globally speaking!!
Life lessons are recalled if taught through contrasts and comparisons. Someone said: "The evil in this world is the creation of those who make a distinction between the self and other." Quoted by David Brooks from a nameless another.
"Live Free or Die:" It is the motto of the State of New Hampshire. A liberal state, known as a "blue color State." Were it conservative, it would have been categorized "a red color State." Like most of the southern states which still call "the Civil war," the "war between the States," with a capital letter (S).
"The Hawkeye State:" Reference is made here to the state of Iowa. A rural state in the Midwest. Where 64% of its inhabitants are evangelicals. You might as well call the evangelicals the near equivalent of the Muslim Brotherhood. Except that they do not engage in physical violence. That is where the primary elections for both the Democrats and the Republicans are first waged.
"The Primaries:" Are intended as boxing matches and are held between the multiple candidates of the two main parties. Determining the viability, meaning "the electability" of a candidate. Leading the winner to be the party nominee. Weeding out the political chaff from the wheat. Like giving the American voter a test run of a new car before committing to buying it.
"An Establishment Candidate:" Is someone who had prior political experience. As a senator, a governor, or an ambassador. This year, if you are an establishment candidate, you are not a favorite of those newly -participating in the elections process. Call it a generational gap; an educational gap; or a regional gap. Gaps here are the sluices (sliding gates) where rage about government pours out. This year in America, is definitely a year of rage.
"A Future To Believe In:" A mantra by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Fashioned after Obama's winning political motto of 2008 "Yes We Can," and "Change You Can Trust." Reference is to the general perception that "Government lies." An innuendo about the CIA fabricating the news about Saddam's ownership of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
"Projecting High Turn Out:" Refers to total uncertainty about the percentage of those eligible to vote casting their ballots. In Iowa, the percentage of youth (defined in America as between the ages of 18 and 30) who stayed at home in recent elections ((caucus) days) was a whopping 84%.
"A Razor-Edge Margin:" In the American system, a fraction of one percentage of voters for a candidate satisfies for putting the winner on top. Winner takes all. Avoids the Italian or French fractional representation. At the Iowa caucuses, Hillary Clinton won by 49.8% caucus-chosen delegates; her opponent, Senator Bernie Sanders, got 49.6%. A razor thin difference. To cover that defeat, Sanders called it "virtual tie." Made the Hillary camp laugh saying: "There is no such term. A win is a win is a win."
"Caucusing:" A special form of politically choosing through a meeting of an elective party committee. Caucuses are all about local politics. Giving the nation a pre-warning of what might emerge through national elections for president this November. A form of participatory democracy.
More on "Caucusing:" Is it fit for the Arab world? Such as in Egypt of Tunisia? No!! Primary reason: America began from localities; the Arab States began from centralism.
"Identity Politics:" Refer primarily to age, not race. Identity is with issues, not with minority interest and majority interest. Determination by age keeps America on a consistent political course, regardless of the changing demographics. This helps political stability, since by 2030, the whites in America shall slide downward to 45% of the populace. "Equality Before the Law," as based on the enduring Constitution with its amendments, is America's governance safety net.
"Conservative versus Liberal:" Terms primarily used by contenders for the Democratic Party nomination. Now, with the elimination process, it is between Hillary and Bernie. Pushed Hillary to the left, forcing her to call herself "progressive centrist." Whatever this means. Her new appellations are not in her favor. Sanders has stayed, for the past 20 years, his ideological course for "a socialist revolution." But causing the Clinton camp to accuse him of "sloganeering." Bill Clinton came to his wife's rescue saying: "Talk is cheap. America needs Hillary. She gets things done."
"A Socialist Revolution:" A political description of Sander's political message. Used against him by the Clinton campaign. In essence, the Sanders message is nothing but continuity from the days of Franklin Roosevelt. It means no turning away from the system of social security and of strict banking regulation. But Sanders pushes the envelope further. In the direction of free education for all. (In Egypt, this is called the Taha Hussein philosophy: "Education is as essential as water and air."
"Robotic:" A robot is pre-programmed. Nothing comes out except what is put in. An insult addressed to Hillary (by the Republicans), and to Marco Rubio (by his Republican opponents, and democratic haters).
"From Day One:" A cliche promise by Republican contenders, promising swift action once in the Oval Office. Too impractical for implementation; provides high expectations which threaten the credibility of a new president. The occupant of the Oval Office is not a push-button executive. Hemmed in by checks and balances and by precedents.
"With all due respect:" Watch out!! Your opponent is about to tear your views apart. It is only a facilitator to a determined denial of the accuracy of what that political opponent stands for.
"My competitor would make a great vice president:" A put down by an opponent seeking the presidency. Wanting to say: "My adversary comes below me in authority and stature. I am way ahead."
"This is an awesome non-answer:" A description of the alleged stupidity of an opponent. Generally used in political debates, or for a refusal to answer a question from the media.
"Make America Great Again:" A mantra used by Trump to explain that he is ready to use non-conventional means to conventional American ends of supremacy in a turbulent world. So even when defeated in the Iowa caucus, he prided himself on being new to the game of politics, but ready to rule the U.S. as an accomplished "deal maker." His book, "The Art of the Deal" has been made by his campaign as equivalent to Chairman Mao's Red Book. Yet when defeated in Iowa, the Iowa newspapers headlined: "Dead Clown Walking."
"Donald Trump Isn't Real:" Headlined David Brooks, a nationally-acclaimed New York Times writer. Here are his words against Trump, the champion of banning Muslims from America:
"Trump's whole campaign was based on success breeding success, the citing of self-referential poll victories to justify his own candidacy. How does he justify a campaign built entirely around his own mastery? Can an aggressor like him respond gracefully in the days ahead to self-created failure? His concession speech was an act of pathetic self-delusion."
"You Can't Be a Moderate and a Progressive:" Personally I don't perceive a big difference between the meaning of these two terms. But this is what was said by Sanders in an attack on Hillary Clinton's political philosophy. In the now contested state for a primary win in the liberal state of New Hampshire. Sander's territory where he has what is called in American political lingo "neighborly advantage, home state advantage." Sanders is from Vermont, but his home state borders New Hampshire to the west. Constituting one of "the blue states" of the great region north east of the US, called "New England." With a city in New Hampshire called "Lebanon."
"I am not a politician:" Stands for freshness, innocent of grid-lock chaos in Washington, D.C., and of lying to the public. Fury against the so-called establishment politics has shaken the 2016 races. The New York Times of February 2, headlined: "Electorate Divided in deep disaffection."
"Some of my friends are Muslims:" watch out for what follows. Islamophobia. That is where leadership steps in. For the protection of American values of diversity, and also for concern for American security. On February 3, President Obama visited the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque. Warned Americans not to be "bystanders of bigotry."
What Does All the Above Mean? Democracy has no universally agreed definition. It is a product, that sprouts in various flavors out of the soil of culture. Hence the variables in its political expressions. As evidenced by the foregoing. By the way: Iowa is an American State. Not equivalent to the Egyptian word meaning OK!!
These are doctrinal differences. But there are other differences of a structural nature between an American model of democracy, and, say, an Egyptian model.
In Iowa, Jeb Bush spent $5200, per elector. These are not direct payments. They are largely the cost of staff by the thousands and of media ads.
It is impossible for an Egyptian candidate for public office to spend that kind of money. An Egyptian candidate might offer a pound of fresh meat or of sugar. And for that little gift to a needy public, his Egyptian opponents and media would scream "corruption."
Furthermore, it is unthinkable for an Egyptian candidate to have his family, including wife and mother to join him or her publicly on the stump. Again to Jeb. His mother does, to the point of the media spelling his "momentum" as "momENTUM." And Hillary has her husband, former President Bill Clinton next to her behind a microphone.
Which of the two parties are expected to get the Oval Office as of January 2017? The Democrats. Hillary, not Sanders. He is too shrill, a bit too far to the left. The American electorate tends to be at the center. Hillary, a woman who is expected to follow Obama. From the first ever black President, to the first ever woman President. The voice of both experience and continuity.
Why did I embark on the perilous journey of putting together this mini dictionary? Perilous, because every paragraph supra is subject to challenge. But it is worth it. Because it has an ideological sub-text. Namely that "democracy" cannot be one single paradigm.
Like "The Seven Veils of Eve," you cannot measure democracy outside America by an American yardstick. Applicable also to measuring the observance of human rights in the New Egypt. For the New Egypt is still at: "Sorry For Your Inconvenience, We Are Under Construction." Democracy, including various forms of respect for human rights, is the product of its own environment.
For the purpose of understanding through the study of contrasts. Here are two examples: American media has for long become enamored with severely criticizing Egypt's security forces clearing the sit-ins in public squares in Cairo (Rabaa and Al-Nahdha).
That was in August 2013, following the removal (in fact the recall) of the Muslim Brotherhood reign of Islamic fascism. Compare this to the removal by American federal forces of the illegal occupants of the prairies of Oregon. And remember that Rabaa and Al-Nahdha are not prairies. They are public squares in a very crowded capital of 12 million citizens.
And while you are it, why not examine the way the Egyptian prosecution and judiciary are handling the opposition to the State of law and order of El-Sisi government? In that examination, compare it to an America rightly stressed by 9/11. Erecting the infamous Guantanamo, where the Muslim victims of that dragnet benefited by no due process!!
As Americans, let us never forget: At Guantanamo, the great American values were submerged under the flood waters of two contrived fictions: That Guantanamo is not American soil!! Really? So why do I see on it flying high, not the Cuban flag, but our American flag?
And that at Guantanamo, the Geneva Conventions are considered obsolete and, in any case, not applicable to those Muslim detainees!! You must be kidding!! So why do we recall those conventions when a group of American sailors lost their way recently in the Gulf, were arrested in Iranian waters, and videotaped by their Iranian captors, prior to their release?
Please get real!! The world is one!! So should be the word!! Because words have consequences!! Globally speaking!!
Life lessons are recalled if taught through contrasts and comparisons. Someone said: "The evil in this world is the creation of those who make a distinction between the self and other." Quoted by David Brooks from a nameless another.
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