Dig That Hole

Egyptians have worked very hard to be inconsequential, to take themselves out of the political equation, to hand power over to corrupt institutions and individuals in such a manner that disempowers them. They were provided a shovel to start digging a hole to shun themselves out of political life. That hole is more like a grave.

Never have I seen people dig their own political graves so quickly and passionately, pausing only to attack those trying to stop them. When they’re done digging the hole, the dirt to bury them starts flowing both from their peers and those who they’ve entrusted with politics. They help make sure as many people who object are in the hole next to them, cheering for our undertakers, and rejoicing in the dirt shoveled by their oppressors on their heads as if it were rain.

"Burry us some more," they shout, as if their distance from all the decisions about their lives was a blessing. “Shoot those who don’t want to join our hole,” they scream in a mob like mentality that condemns anyone who dares to look outside and point to the ills of what’s around.

They still see the corruption from the spaces that haven't covered their eyes so much, but they're happy where they are. They convince themselves that they can’t see and that those shoveling the dirt gleefully know what’s best. They convince others that they don’t know what they’re talking about.

The dirt fills the hole and they’re knee deep in it, they slow down, but don’t stop. There’s less cheering and they’re deep enough inside the hole for the oppressors to slow down. Those who want to move and stop the theft they see before their eyes cannot move from all the dirt that surrounds them. They feel paralyzed, that they're of no consequence, but it was they that did that to themselves.