Egypt, Revisited

Its been more than 6 months since the uprising and protests first started in Egypt and it seems like little progress has been made.  In the aftermath of the revolution, there have been some tumultuous times as is expected whenever a country radically changes direction, but when will it end?  In the late spring, there were some clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians and just over the last few days, there was some heated interactions between the general public and the police.  The root cause of the latest clash is debatable with each group claiming a different cause.  It seems that in general, the public is frustrated that nothing is happening.  Everything has been pretty much simmering since Mubarak was ousted and seemingly little progress has been made in formulating a new government for the people.  From the public's point of view, it is the military that is now the obstacle.  In the wake of Mubarak, the military stepped in to run the country and control things, but months later, the public is ready to move forward when the military is apparently ready to stay put.  Emergency law is still in place and while there is much more freedom to be had, jobs and money are still scarce and the economy is severely stagnating.  So how does a country that has been stifled for 30 years re-create itself?  Not easily. 

Many of the underlying problems still abound; corruption for one is still present, and there is still great distrust simmering in the shadows.  After 30 years of dealing with an overtly controlling government, old habits die hard and it will still take some time to move forward and institute reforms and meaningful agendas to lift the country out of its current doldrums.  The first move in my mind that needs to be made is to remove the military from its current position of running the government and in essence the country.  The people will not be satisfied until they have a civilian in power with the military there only to offer security against foreign threats.  In order to get a civilian into power however, there needs to be greater communication amongst all to formulate a plan to institute elections and create a common list of goals that will be recognized by the newly elected official.  Currently it seems as if the list of grievances that needs to be addressed is staggering and is one of the biggest obstacles to moving forward.  What needs to happen is to whittle down that list to the underlying issues and start with those realizing that in conquering the biggest problems, the little ones will be taken care of along the way.  So what are the biggest issues?   From what I can garner from the media and reports, the biggest issues are unemployment, corruption, the decimated economy, and the current vacuum of power that is filled by the military. 

So how should these concerns be addressed?  Well, in my mind, the logical thing to do would be to set a date for elections and come up with candidates that the public can vote on.  That date should be set for 2-3 months down the road so that the country doesn't sink farther into despair.   Whoever is elected should have an initial limit of time that they can be in power, I would say 2 years is best to begin with.  With a 2 year limit, it gives the public security in knowing that if they do not like how things are going, they can elect someone different sooner rather than later.  After the initial 2 year limit, I would raise it to four or whatever the people deem is responsible and necessary.   Once that person steps into office, the first and most important issue that needs to be addressed is the corruption that is still rampant.  Without addressing corruption, any effort to boost the economy and thus job growth will be in vain.  I personally do not know what steps should be taken to address the corruption, I only know that if things are going to improve, it is a major obstacle that needs to be removed somehow.  Finally, after Egypt has a civilian in power and corruption under control, work can start to happen on re-invigorating the economy and formulating an official plan for the future. 

Any transition in power, especially at the country level, is going to be hard and take time.   It will take courage and the effort of everyone to change mindsets and adapt to a new way of life.  The 30 year stranglehold on Egyptian society is over, but the psychological remnants remain and will for some time.  You can't just take 30 years of life and flip it like a dime.  I am confident that the people of Egypt will formulate a plan to move forward and see it through.   All that they need to realize is that they need to do it themselves.  For 30 years, they were told what to do and how to do it, now it is time for them to step out on their own and do it for themselves, a very hard thing to do when everything used to be done for you.  If you look at the timeline, though, its only been 6 months, albeit a long 6 months, but in the overall scheme of things it is a drop in the bucket.  For Egyptians, it is time to get down to work and step into the public arena and work for what they want to see happen.