College of Political Knowledge
Subject: International Politics/Political Theory
I realize that many people here in the US are watching or even give a darn about the occurrences in Northern Africa, Tunisia to be exact….I mean we are all dealing with the most recent form of violence in the US…the shootings and violence in Tucson….but we need to be paying attention…..there are somethings that are similar and watch how others handle their societal problems…..I am NOT saying that we should ignore the disaster in Arizona, but rather we should be able to do more than focus on one thing…..I usually try to post on international situations on Wednesdays, because there is more to the world than what happens in the US….but today the two will intersect…….
Okay back to Tunisia……Tunisia has been wracked by angry demonstrations, with citizens — angry with the government’s performance — protesting high unemployment, alleged corruption, rising prices, and a limitations on rights. And because of these things Tunisia is wracked with violent protests……
He (Ben Ali, the president) has decided to form a committee to probe the violence and a second committee to look into complaints of bribery, corruption and officials’ mistakes, TV reported.
Ben Ali also called on the country’s two houses of parliament to meet in an emergency session and implement presidential decrees to help raise employment, create more resources to improve peoples’ living and push for more investments.
Geez! And all it took was the people standing up and demanding, yes violently, that something be done…something that benefits the average person and NOT the wealthy of the country, which has become wealthier under the Ali administration, some say because of rampant corruption…
Maybe the people in the US should take a page out of this playbook…..not the violence…..repeat NOT the violence….but maybe they should start demonstrating for jobs, fair wages, adequate health care and a break from the massive favoritism shown to corporation, especially since they are NOT creating anything but wealth for themselves and their friends in Washington….
It is beyond the time for Americans to return to the days of civil disobedience……since the political system is NOT working for ALL Americans…..it is time to make the system work and work better than it has in 30 years……my friends…time to return to the streets! We have waited long enough for the politicos to do the right thing and apparently they are incapable of such….then we need to take things into our own hands and MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Addendum: Since I wrote this piece more about the situation has come to light….from a piece written in the Christian Science Monitor……..
Tunisia’s President Ben Ali, a dictator whose continued reign become untenable for the rest of the Tunisian elite in the face of massive public protests, has just resigned. Al Jazeera is reporting that Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has taken power as interim president.The Tunis airport has been closed due to the coup d’état/people power revolution/peaceful transfer of power/whatever it is that just happened. I’m guessing that if all this is well-received by the crowds on the streets in Tunis (which seems a safe bet) that the airport will soon reopen, at least in a limited way. The new government will be eager to show it’s addressing popular demands, that a military dictatorship to replace the Ben Ali dictatorship is not on the cards.
The voice of the people has been heard and action taken……give you any ideas?
