Rebellion.. the unforgivable sin..

Oookay.. so this entire "blogging S.A.T essays" didn't work out. (I can almost sense the relieved faces), because I already finished the exam before yesterday. But either ways, you really don't want me to start rambling about how depressing that was (S.A.T is a nuisance! Ok ok I'll stop now..), so let's start off where we left off.

 Let's see.. ah rebellion, that unforgivable sin.. that crime your parents scold you all the time for committing, or that your colleagues at work would never back you up in, or students at school.. etc.. So to rebel, you must have some pretty good reason right? And when you do have that reason, what next?

The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.- Albert Camus

 Indeed, the biggest threat to an oppressive government is the free mind, free of all prejudices, of all  that nonsense they try fill your mind with of hopelessness and helplessness. As history has proven time and again, it is only when the people know how capable they are that they truly succeed to overthrow a tyrannical government. As an Arab, I would be expected to give the Arab spring as the perfect example for this phenomenon. True. But before, let's go back some decades to past experiences.
To analyze the present, we must delve into past experiences. Like the most popular rebel of all time, Patrick Henry, said, "I know no way of judging of the future but by the past".. (yeah... I know; I'm so into quotes today...). So let's take the French Revolution which was about two centuries ago and the Arab Spring, which started about two years ago and well I suppose has not ended yet, and see how History has a tendency to repeat itself on and on...
This is a sort of  "check list" of the similarities of both: (of coarse my first attempt at this ended in a full research sorta, so I had to trim it a little ^_^").  Let's just take the basics...

French Revolution:                Arab Spring:

                    Famine                                        Check!

• First thing in common! What do you think would drive a poor peasant who couldn't careless about "Global Warming" or the "political conflicts that may result in war... bla  bla bla". The only motive people that would urge the poor to care is food! - basic human rights that people like those have no higher expectations than! Of all the reasons of rebellion to come, this is the most crucial.

              Ignorant government                                     Double check!
               (at least seemingly so...)

        

• Marie Antoinette's most renowned quote "Let them eat cake" says it all! Although, the quote is said to  be attributed to her and that there is no evidence that she actually said that, I have to say the expression was probably attributed to her for an obvious reason. Her every action was screaming " greedy, self centered, tyrannical,and the list goes on!" Of coarse the "head of the snake" was definitely King Louis, who was a very extravagant life while many were suffering from famine. Of course, the same exact scenario was in most of the Arab countries (I'm trying to stay optimistic and not say "still is"). (Bare with me I'm almost done!)

               Economic Decline and                   You really don't want me to
                     Corrupted rules                 say how many checks that'll be!           


                                                                                                                                        

 
• Oh God. This is a tough one to stay succinct on. Where to start?! The French were literally paying HALF their yearly budget in interest alone! And when the government wanted to "reform" the taxes, it got worse! The poor had to pay all the taxes while the aristocrats were busy in the so-called " Parliament" reforming legislation to fit their wants! It got to the extent that whoever had the tiniest bit of money, would prefer buying a title over food, so they can get exempted from the taxes. In contemporary society, the people are not buying "titles" in the literal meaning.  Although we don't have "clergyman" and "aristocrat" anymore, we do have "the eminent business man", "the rich minister", "the congressman who'll never end up in jail no matter how unethical and gruesome deeds he commits", and so on. So, you have the money, position, you're in; you don't,  you're not. Long story short, The corruption in the government that may start as treating the minister a little too nicely or letting the congressman's son "off the hook for now, just tell daddy I said hi" (SERIOUSLY??!) is all ending us up where it ends people up in History time and again.

We claim that "we learn from our mistakes". I believe a historian would just laugh at this naive comment. You see, History has this penchant to repeat itself. And here it is: tangible proof. Instead of taking this as tragic, we should decide to maybe start with ourselves and start learning from our ancestors'  mistakes for starters!  Well, now we know that we will always be faced with oppressive leaders, but we know how to deal with it, or maybe how NOT to deal with it. I just hope that next time, and there will be a next time, mark my words (or History's words to give it's majesty credit) we realize the signs earlier. And the sad part is we do! We do, but we never have the courage to stand up before it's too late! A revolution is not some walk in the park; it costs the nation a lot whether, economically, politically, and even emotionally. It is a radical decision we reside to after no other choice would suffice. But speaking up earlier is almost always the  most prudent thing to do. And by earlier I mean a little before THIRTY YEARS people!!!

Ok that was seriously a lot.. I seriously doubt anyone mad it to the end safely.. But if you're still there, I promise I'll make the next post way shorter... May be even talk about something a little less deep and serious.. How about  The United States' elections??? Just kiddin'... XP (may be some other time??) .. Stay tuned! XP