The Middle East is awakening to the new scent, democracy is "in the air" among other scents... I have blogged my wrist off on the importance of democracy, free speech, dignity and human rights in the Arab world, but there is another side to what's happening, and many do not want any part of it. Here's why:
Imagine there is a beauty queen living right across the street from your house, a dream come true kind of girl that recently became Miss Universe.
Miss Universe is about to make your whole neighborhood famous, you will be giving interviews to International TV channels and newspapers about your memories playing together as kids ..
Now Miss Universe needs to repaint her house to suit her new status, you see, she cannot afford to move to a higher class neighborhood, so it is decided that she will not only paint her house red white and blue, she will paint all the houses in the street with those colors to make the neighborhood suit her "new status", you like her, you like having your house re-painted, you have even been planning to refresh your house paint as soon as you can afford it, you just can't imagine living in a tri-color house, your house, you are also in for a shock when you discover that you don't even have a say about it!
Miss Universe has already deployed painters on every roof in your street merrily tri-coloring the neighborhood! Your next door neighbor started to tri-color his house long before the painters arrived, and the one next to him refused to have his house tri-colored unless he pays for it from his own pocket in full! Another neighbor is taking money to allow the painters in, another neighbor his house was taken over by a thief and will allow the tri-colors if he has a chance to win his house back, as for the rest, they cannot be bothered to even consider that something wrong is happening.. You are beginning to feel like your neighborhood is an asylum and you are the only sane one left!
Again, you want your house painted! You just can't stand someone else force painting your house, and in colors that don't suit your taste! Miss Universe is not painting your house out of generosity, she is doing it for her own interests, and forcing her tri-colors and schedule on every body else, moving out is not an option, what would you do?
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