Egypt

As the editor of The TerryReport, it is a point of satisfaction that I called the affair right from the start, as one could see by reading the first post, Egyptian Government to Fall. However, this is not a matter of false pride. At considerable personal, career and financial expense to myself, I witnessed a revolution and repressive governments over the years. It is really different when you see it personally and have your mind actively engaged. There is a dynamic to revolution and, while not all follow the script point by point, once you have seen one up close, you have a better perspective on the whole process. I am personally much more pleased that the Egyptian people were successful. That’s the main point.


It seems clear that one aspect of the Egyptian revolt was that the time was ripe. They had waited a very long time, perhaps ten years beyond where any nation should be expected to endure a regime of torture, mass imprisonment and suppression. There is no time limit on oppression, it is too much the first day it starts and so until the last day. Societies do have some sort of internal clock, however, as to how much they can take.


Here is what an oppressive regime cannot survive: a little breath of fresh air. Oppression must be absolute to last and when the people start to breath, when they start to sense that something might be possible, in many cases it is all over. I was personally hopeful that this might be happening in Iran a year and a half ago, but the repression came down hard enough that the movement, at that time, could not survive. It will be back.


Doug Terry, 2.14.11