Nefsy ya Masr - Egypt, I Wish - نفسي يا مصر

There is much talk - much of it valid - about how what happened in Egypt may have been more of a coup than a revolution per se. As George Friedman points out in an article for Stratfor Global Intelligence, "The week began with an old soldier running Egypt. It ended with different old soldiers running Egypt with even more formal power than Mubarak had. This has caused worldwide shock and awe. We were killjoys in 2009, when we said the Iranian revolution wasn’t going anywhere. We do not want to be killjoys now, since everyone is so excited and happy. But we should point out that, in spite of the crowds, nothing much has really happened yet in Egypt. It doesn’t mean that it won’t, but it hasn’t yet." Again, I'm not trying to be naive or overly optimistic, but I still hold the view that an irreversible change has taken place, which means when Friedman says "nothing much has really happened yet," I focus on the yet. The real work is taking place now, and it begins with people voicing their hopes for Egypt, as in the video below. Caution is needed, as is emphasis that the people must continue to make their voices heard. Warnings like Friedman’s are crucial so that the people will continue to watch and critique what the military (and any new authority) is doing, and hold them to their promises of working towards the goal (the entire frame of mind!) of democracy. But at what point do we do Egypt a disservice by saying, “OK. We know you’re happy. But don’t get too excited yet because in the end, you didn’t get that far...”? I don’t have an answer, but I’m continuing to think.