Thank You Egypt

(written a while ago) 



Thank you Egypt for reminding me that the 4th of July is nothing to celebrate.

A country founded on genocide, mass theft of indigenous peoples' land and the profits of black and brown slave labor, the U.S. independence day is far from a celebration of democracy. It was the armed uprising, far more violent than in Egypt, of a regime now held in place by everyday violence, surveillance, incarceration, poverty and sexual oppression.

Look around, we are celebrating the wrong things. Our version of democracy has failed. We have to ask ourselves: is democracy simply a checklist -- a ballot box, a supreme court -- or is it an act that you have to participate in everyday?

Egypt is pushing the boundaries of the collective consciousness. We are not in a bubble; we are part of an international community that is seeking a world for all of us -- and not for the few.

Marcos said: our end is not simply revolution; but rather, a reality where revolutions are possible. That reality exists in Egypt, Turkey and Brazil right now -- and that reality existed two years ago in the United States.

Can you feel it? The movement within us?
The scream of the silent majority powered by the imagination of this generation -- we can have it if we want it.

If not now, when? If not here, where? If not you, who?

It's time for a real independence day.