or "Julian, Charles, Ray, The Woz and Tron Part II"
...then came the WikiLeaks website's release of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables that revealed the underside of Arab regimes, including Tunisian President Zine el Abidine ben Ali's, a portrait of corruption complete with a stolen yacht, a tiger kept in a cage and a lavish dinner with ice cream flown in from the French Riviera.
Arabs were at once titillated and outraged. Tunisia, with more of an educated and cosmopolitan middle class than much of the region, grew increasingly restless.
That's funny, the future is here. Faster than expected. Part I - written two months ago (see below) - talked about (among a nuuuuuuummmber of things) how technology is rapidly changing the way we think, feel, believe and live.
In particular, I mentioned that there are "those who are becoming more intelligent, more informed, less gullible and...more importantly...starting to question more. What does a more enlightened human being mean: More people who'll question authority and the actions of leaders, governments and corporations. Who'll question the very traditions and ideas they've found themselves in."
I also had thought that in the future, - oh, about 200 years down the road - conflicts will be "between the traditionalists (more to lose) who'll subconsciously see knowledge as the enemy and the enlightened (more to gain) ones."
The future, though, seems to be now.
Mohamed Bouzazi was a street vendor in Tunisia who set himself on fire in December in protest to his wares being confiscated and the humiliation inflicted upon him by a female municipal official. His death became the official catalyst for the revolution that overthrew the Tunisian government.
Ibrahim Ben Slama, a university student in Tunis, says he first heard of Bouazizi's self-immolation on Facebook, which was used to plan many of the protests.
"I was with my friends on Facebook, and we encouraged each other," said Dali ben Salem, a 25-year-old intern at a pharmacy in Tunis, the Tunisian capital. "The solidarity helped me to face the fear."
Social media played a crucial role in spreading news of the uprising, which was not mentioned on Tunisian TV until nearly two weeks after it started. Ben Ali's government was a master of Web censorship, but Tunisians are professionals at getting around it. They exchanged proxy servers and posted images of alleged massacres online, further enraging the population.
Soufiane Chourabi, a journalist for the Tarik Al Jadid newspaper, was one of the first to begin documenting the uprising in Tunisia's interior. The rapid spread of information online was a key reason that the rest of the country joined in the revolt.
"When Tunisians saw images of fellow citizens rebelling, they lost their fear," he says. He credits the videos of youths tearing down ubiquitous photos of Tunisia's autocrat as a psychological turning point.
"They needed someone to do that simple thing of taking down the picture of Ben Ali, and that was it. That released them," Mr. Chourabi says. "When Ben Ali's symbol fell, there was no fear. This picture of the big and strong Ben Ali collapsed."
The Tunisian revolt became the inspiration for similar actions throughout the Arab region - including the overthrow of the 30 year regime of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt.
The young men and women (who were) in the streets, are a generation that never knew anybody but President Mubarak since they were born. It's a new generation, a generation of Facebook, Twitter, and now the Internet, where it's a small world and everything is known. That generation grew up thinking -- what is freedom, what is democracy, and they thought why not us?
"It's political challenge to autocratic systems that have degraded and dehumanized people and humiliated them to the point where they just can't take it anymore and they finally started to erupt," said Rami Khouri, a commentator and analyst affiliated with the American University of Beirut.
"That's combined with intense social and economic pressures and disparities which are accentuated by the lavish lifestyles of the rich who made their money by being close to the regime."
Let's have Julian Assange, yes, the "Julian" in the title and one of the founders of Wikileaks, have his word before we move on: "When you see abusive organizations suffer the consequences as a result of their abuse, and you see victims elevated... that's a very pleasurable activity to be involved in."
Check out this video from an Egyptian filmmaker made about 20 minutes after the announcement of Mubarak's departure. Goosebumps guaranteed:
So, that was fun: This past month, I unleashed upon the world a fake "news" article about the Philippines. It talked about how a President named Buboy Garduque transformed the Philippines (let's now call him a "Faux-resident"). Actually got some people into believing in it. So much so that I had to issue an "apology." Yes, the quotation marks are there because, yes, it was a fake apology.
I mention this story to illustrate the power that the internet wields. It has the power to connect us all and be a force for the human spirit but can also be a tool for those with dark intentions - like me, hehehehe.
The hard part, of course, for Tunisia and Egypt will be what happens after the bad guys have left. Check out this heartfelt piece by a Filipino blogger illuminating us on the difficulties and hopes ahead: "A LETTER TO EGYPT"
What stands out from the ongoing revolts in the Middle East is that they are being led not by messianic figures but, rather, by faceless citizens who decided to take matters into their own hands.
It may surprise a number of people that the United States Declaration of Independence actually agrees to the right to rebel or revolution: "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government...." Funny, eh?
Yes, it's easier when the enemy is an obvious villain. But, what if the enemy is...ourselves? That's what the Philippines is faced with. It'll have to be up to the faceless, nameless dedicated citizens - people like you and me - who in a tiny, tiny way try to help open people's minds to the possibilities.
These are the questions we should ask ourselves? What's our purpose? What are we on this earth for? What can I do?
Sorry, but, can't help but bring out a favorite of mine by the anthropologist Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
My brother and I used to chuckle at our sister-in-law's insistence that the year 2012 is not the end of the world as some have insisted but, rather, will be the dawning of a new age of enlightenment. After these past few months' drama....Rica, I've now reduced it to a half chuckle.
Thought this Beatles classic would be the best way to close this one. The best line: "You tell me it's the institution, well, you know you better free your mind instead." Indeed.
Thanks to my brother, Diego - my fellow futurist and radical, who helped me push through with this piece when I was this close to abandoning it.
Note: Italicized passages from this article came from various sources: Time Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times.
