Where is your CVC code?
An article in the Guardian yesterday includes this great quote from Ahmad Mahmoud, a 35-year-0ld teacher in Egypt, about what has happened to the psyche of the people there:
“People have changed. They were scared. They are no longer scared. We are not afraid of his system any longer and when we stopped being afraid we knew we would win,” he said. “We will not again allow ourselves to be scared of a government. We will not be afraid to say when we think the president is wrong or the government is bad. This is the revolution in our country, the revolution in our minds. Mubarak can stay for days or weeks but he cannot change that. We cannot go back.”
This casting off of fear is a crucial ingredient to nonviolent change. Once a people stop being afraid of a repressive regime and are willing to risk their lives for freedom, anything is possible. (h/t Jack DuVall)
The casting off of fear, and the embracing of a collective purpose through a shared feeling is making this so powerful. It’s so much more than a simple change of mind, the emotions have backed up the logical obvious linear thought that a clear change was needed. It’s the collective passion of a people that lifts them up and our collective human spirit soars at the liberation in process.