First, we've been asked to discuss the situation in Egypt from our Christian perspective. Wes and I are both pretty bad at keeping up with the news. We read Yahoo news, and I get Time magazine, but that doesn't mean we're always well-informed. We knew a little about the situation, but we did some background research so that we could speak about it from a well-informed point of view. So while we were up at 7 this morning due to the tornado siren, we learned about Egypt.
I don't think that it's right for one person to lead a country in any fashion for 30 years. There is a reason we have an 8-year limit for presidents in the US. Anything they do, any changes they institute, any mistakes they make are just small blots in the course of history. From the religious point, humans are fallible. They are subject to error, influenced by others, etc. There's a reason we needed Jesus to come atone for our sins. We simply can't be responsible for it on our own--we're too messed up. When someone leads a country for so long on his own, problems are bound to happen.
As far as the citizens go, I sympathize with them greatly. I feel so blessed that I have never had to live through a situation like that. I am able to speak freely, practice my religion freely, and not worry about being persecuted for who and whose I am. I admire the millions of people who are standing up for their rights and the rights of their children and grandchildren. I'm also extremely impressed by the military personnel who are refusing to fire on their peaceful brothers and sisters.
I am mortified by the US news agencies' response to this situation, however. Much of the news coverage I have seen has not been concerned with how to get aid to the Egyptians, how this will affect the situation in the Middle East, what the UN can and should be doing or what we could do as citizens of one country to those of another. Instead, it has primarily focused on what this means for the US. I am appalled at how one-sided our news has become. We may be the world's superpower, but we're not the world's only power--and we are far from being the nation that needs the most attention. When did we as a country become so self-absorbed?
Last but not least, I couldn't decide on my favorite sandwich. In all honesty, I'm not a huge sandwich fan. I prefer all sorts of other kinds of food. But I love grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup and BLTs with no mayo. As my brother would say, "It's a BLT, not a BLTM!"
Wes: So let me begin by first sharing why I have a problem following the mainline news stations. I try to get all of my news from the Onion, Jon Steward and Stephen Colbert, and Yahoo! News. When you don't stay with heavily satirical news groups that sneak in a hint of truth right when you think you've had it up to your eyes with the bull honky, you get things like the following. This was a map of the Middle East that Fox News aired during a segment this last weekend:
Jon Stewart was quick to point it out, and I have to agree it is ridiculous. But it does stand as a reminder that we in the United States are so wrapped up in ourselves and in our self-interest that a great majority of us would have a very hard problem finding places like Egypt on a map or globe. The only time we ever focus on other people in other countries is when our interests align with them.
Which is why this thing with Egypt really bums me out. I feel like the reason that we're so upset about it is that the US doesn't know who to get behind. The dictator, Mubarak, has allied with the US and has done some good stuff like kept up peace between Egypt and Israel, but I know he's a jerk too, and he hasn't been the best leader for his country. I think that's one of the problems with any system where the leaders have no accountability and rule without any set term. (Blog about my struggles with United Methodist itinerancy coming soon). I also know that the news is saying that a lot of the planning and organizing of the protests are being led by extremist groups that are using this opportunity to try and gain control of the government. I don't want to believe that is true, but I also know that this kind of stuff happens a lot when protests happen and there's the chance that governments will be overthrown.
Now, I don't feel like I know the right thing for the US government to do, but I feel like the Christian thing to do (and please, for the love of God note that I am not saying what the political, governing body of this wonderful country should do) is to go in an be God's people for the ones who really need it. We should be there feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, taking care of the sick and the elderly--this, by the way, being the same thing that we should be doing here regardless of who is running our country or the policies of whatever the current government is. I feel like we spend so much time trying to pick and cozy up to the winning side that we forget that there are people who will be losing no matter who is still standing after all of the smoke has cleared.
I have been thinking a lot about what some of my friends in Texas were doing last weekend and how it relates to the stuff going down in Egypt right now. The Southwest Texas Methodist Conference Youth Ministries are in the middle of their six weeks of weekend retreats, and this last one was the first time one of the retreats has been focused specifically on mission. A little under 100 youth and adults gathered together in San Antonio to spend a weekend ministering to and hanging out with the local homeless community. In a city that has outlawed loitering to a point where anyone without a place to sleep indoors now has the high possibility of spending some time in jail, these people spent the weekend getting to know the men and women who are struggling to stay warm in the winter and find food on a daily basis. Here. Look at a picture of a group of them that I stole from Facebook:
What do you think would happen if we treated the situation in Egypt in a similar fashion? What would happen if instead of trying to take sides and complain about how this might impact our oil prices or vacation plans, we instead tried to help those who are not going benefit either way in this and need someone to come in and minister to them where they are?
Just saying.
As for my favorite sandwich, I would have to go with either a philly cheese steak (MUST BE AUTHENTIC!!! I'm spoiled now since I'm this close to the capital of the steak sandwich--they don't call it a philly cheese steak in philly...) or a corned beef sandwich on chibatta bread. Or meatball marinera. Or grilled cheese. Or... well... anything tasty that doesn't have salad on it.
Well, that's all for now! You stay classy, World Wide Web! (Hopefully people from Egypt will be able to read this soon!)
-Jess and Wes
Nice job Wes. As one of those who went and served with those 100 people on the streets of San Antonio, I can tell you that it changes your perspective of those that are around you. So many of us look away when we drive up on those that stand on street corners asking for money or food, not because we don't care, but because we judge them first and then act secondly (if at all). If we were to simply acknowledge their existence and struggle, we would make a huge impact in their life. We could share just a second of hope and respect with them - two things that have lost because of their situation. In an economy where much of America is one paycheck away from being homeless, who are we to judge why they are on the street corner. Instead, we should think,, "what if it was me on that street corner?". Maybe then, the world would change, and be kinder and gentler!
ReplyDeleteWe miss you here in Texas!!
Hey guys, hope everything is going alright. I just wanted to jump in and comment on some things you said and throw in my two cents in the process. I'll start by saying that the map posted above reminded me of the saying "War is God's way of teaching U.S. citizens geography!" Also,
ReplyDeleteI recommend watching any reporting done during this by Richard Engel. He is probably the single most knowledgable and fascinating foreign reporter from the United States to the Middle East. He lived in Egypt in the 1990's and spent most of the Iraq war as a freelance reporter in Iraq who was smuggled into the country prior to the invasion in anticipation, was kidnapped while he was there, had the hotel he was staying in bombed, and spent 10 months out of the year in Iraq, only leaving to go to Afghanistan.
At the time of you both writing this there wasn't really a need for aid (if by aid you mean food, water, clothes, etc.) The protests were still peaceful. Now that there have been undercover police sent in to start trouble with the anti-government protesters, that could change but all fighting has been in the square in the center of Cairo and hasn't had a great direct effect those not involved and in residential areas (as far as violence and destruction go). As far as it being the same as San Antonio: it's hard to say what should or could be done since yes, there is poverty and homelessness there just like there is everywhere but the protesters are in general people doing alright, or at least well enough to get by from day to day. They are just fed up and inspired by the people of Tunisia. Again, until yesterday it was just a mass of people going out everyday and expressing their frustrations and now it is the same group of people being attacked by undercover police and fighting just enough to defend themselves from being shot or burned by molotov cocktails. There are always things one can do in any country to help the less fortunate, but I think to treat this like a mission trip in downtown San Antonio is missing the larger picture. There was a naturally groundswell of people who came out to peacefully voice opposition to the ruling party. That is it. Very similar to any March on Washington type event. It isn't like a natural disaster where hundreds lost lives and homes and, even though there has been corruption in the government, it isn't like other African countries where the people are so oppressed not only by their government but others that only the wealthiest few know that they will live to see another day. Knowing the two of you I understand why your first thoughts were about getting aid to people, but it is hard to get aid where it needs to be if those organizing its distribution don't have a full grasp of the situation.
Maybe I have been watching different news sources than you but I have actually seen talk about how this will affect the Middle East, mainly the Israel/Egypt relations depending on who takes over after Mubarak steps down or is ousted but we are still several steps away from that. If Mubarak stays in charge, not much will change, if there are elections, it depends on who is elected. Egypt does not view the United States in the best of light right now because of our unwavering support for Mubarak and his government so do we try to back a candidate? Will that help or hurt that candidates chances of winning. Remember the Palestine elections in 2006? Bush was advised to delay them but he insisted on having them as soon as possible and backing the party that would be the friendliest to the United States. When election day came, the party Bush was backing lost and the overwhelming winner was Hammas. Can we afford a similar situation in Egypt? As one can see there is a whole lot to speculate on at the moment but nothing is very concrete yet. There are too many possible outcomes.
This does have a big affect on the U.S. though so it is understandable why the news media is choosing to look at that aspect of it. For starters, it is the easiest side of the story for those without Egyptian heritage to relate to. The U.S. ships get expedite treatment at the Suez canal which is important especially when considering the extra amount of time it takes for an oil tanker to not only wait in line at the Suez port, but also the amount of time it takes to go around the Cape of Good Hope instead. The only country that receives more money from the United States than Egypt is Israel and the U.S. has been propping up Egypt financially and militarily. The tanks are U.S. A1-M1 Abrams tanks we sold them, the planes are U.S. made F-16's we sold them, the teargas they are using was made in the U.S. and we have backed Mubarak the entire time he has been in office. Egypt hosts war games ever two years that the U.S. military participates in and when the protests broke out, Egypt's top military officials were at the Pentagon is Washington D.C. This wasn't considered news worthy at the time because they are there so often.
ReplyDeleteListen to Obama talk about the protests in Tunisia and then listen to him talk about the protests in Egypt. It's pretty clear from what was said about Tunisia that the U.S. officials want to get behind the people protesting because they feel they are morally right, but because of close ties to Mubarak and not yet seeing a clear outcome to the situation, Obama is hedging his bets. I have not heard mainstream western or Al-Jazeera media say this is being led by extremists who want to take control. That has been what the Egyptian president Mubarak is saying in an effort to de-legitimize the movement and their grievances. Reporters who are actually there and not apart of Egyptian media are saying the opposite is true and the fact that the army has not done anything to stop protesters (only undercover police at this point) seems to say Mubarak is lying. There is no central voice for the protesters who spent several days without internet. They all came together at the square in Cairo and have made plans from there. There was even some disagreement a few days ago about what day they should march to Mubarak's house. Most said wait until Friday but there were still many who wanted to head there immediately and a few even started to march. This only goes to show the lack of real organization. Now that the undercover police have come in, it is easy to see which side is organized and which side isn't.