I think I've already mentioned quite a few times on this blog that I'm not a big fan of labels. I believe the human spirit has more to it than can be described in a simple word or phrase, which is exactly why we should keep the labels for the jars of pickles (not that they don't have any personality or depth to them, but I think we can all agree that they are less complex than the human soul).
I'm currently reading El-Ketab El-Tany (The Second Book) by Ahmed Esseily, and it has a chapter on labels that I really liked. Esseily (who refuses to be labelled) says that people stick labels on others to make it easier for themselves to deal with them, which I completely agree with. The truth is, people aren't two-dimensional creatures that can be expressed in a mere word, like I said. They're much, much more than that, and that is where labels fall short.
What was dubbed "Friday of Unity" today in Tahrir Square turned into more or less the opposite of that. Self-proclaimed Islamists, Salafis and Ikhwan members flooded the square and began calling for an "Islamist state", while the other side, supposedly composed mostly of leftists and liberals, chanted for a "civil state". Because, you know, that's what totally matters: what we call our country. As opposed to what we actually do in our country to make it better for all those living on its soil, and all those belonging to it but living abroad.
Frankly, I don't care. I don't care what the country I live in is called. I'm not going to go out there and demand that everyone adhere to the system that I find fitting. I'm a random person who changes her mind a lot so this whole belonging-to-a-group-of-thinking thing doesn't really work for me. What I care about is this: that I lead a decent life in a decent country. A country where 40% of the population is not below the poverty line. A country with clean streets and even cleaner minds. A country where people accept each other and regard their differences as good things, not bad ones. A country where you're free to do or say what you want as long you don't cause harm to anyone else. A country with a free, independent media that isn't abused by the powers-to-be to brainwash the masses into one sick, deluded concept. A country where politicians aren't continually trying to exploit the very people they swore to protect. A country where a policeman and an army solider are figures of security, not torture. A country where people don't cast generalizations or go around stereotyping everyone they meet because they know that no two people are really the same.
That's the kind of country I want to live in. I'm pretty sure all the labels could argue that their system offers just that, to which I can only say, I rest my case. Maybe we could have a liberal-leftist-rightist-secular-religious state? After all, it does take all the colours of the rainbow, united, to form one beam of white light.
I'm currently reading El-Ketab El-Tany (The Second Book) by Ahmed Esseily, and it has a chapter on labels that I really liked. Esseily (who refuses to be labelled) says that people stick labels on others to make it easier for themselves to deal with them, which I completely agree with. The truth is, people aren't two-dimensional creatures that can be expressed in a mere word, like I said. They're much, much more than that, and that is where labels fall short.
What was dubbed "Friday of Unity" today in Tahrir Square turned into more or less the opposite of that. Self-proclaimed Islamists, Salafis and Ikhwan members flooded the square and began calling for an "Islamist state", while the other side, supposedly composed mostly of leftists and liberals, chanted for a "civil state". Because, you know, that's what totally matters: what we call our country. As opposed to what we actually do in our country to make it better for all those living on its soil, and all those belonging to it but living abroad.
Frankly, I don't care. I don't care what the country I live in is called. I'm not going to go out there and demand that everyone adhere to the system that I find fitting. I'm a random person who changes her mind a lot so this whole belonging-to-a-group-of-thinking thing doesn't really work for me. What I care about is this: that I lead a decent life in a decent country. A country where 40% of the population is not below the poverty line. A country with clean streets and even cleaner minds. A country where people accept each other and regard their differences as good things, not bad ones. A country where you're free to do or say what you want as long you don't cause harm to anyone else. A country with a free, independent media that isn't abused by the powers-to-be to brainwash the masses into one sick, deluded concept. A country where politicians aren't continually trying to exploit the very people they swore to protect. A country where a policeman and an army solider are figures of security, not torture. A country where people don't cast generalizations or go around stereotyping everyone they meet because they know that no two people are really the same.
That's the kind of country I want to live in. I'm pretty sure all the labels could argue that their system offers just that, to which I can only say, I rest my case. Maybe we could have a liberal-leftist-rightist-secular-religious state? After all, it does take all the colours of the rainbow, united, to form one beam of white light.
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