To revolution or not to revolution?

Because that’s the question the world has been asking itself about the events rapidly shaping Middle East and North Africa, isn’t it? How will these power changes affect us? Now if you somehow haven’t come into contact with a newspaper or a news channel for the past two months and you’re thinking to yourself, “What revolution? The one where they dumped some tea in that harbor and a declaration was signed?” then allow me to recap.

It all started in the North African country of Tunisia, where a young man in mid-December lit himself on fire in protest of not being able to sell his vegetables without permission. This act sparked a built-up anger in the people who soon took to the streets in violent protest against their government over unemployment, corruption, and repression of political freedoms. After numerous deaths and injuries, Tunisia successfully toppled their government and ousted their dictator-president of 23 years.

The winds of change then blew across North Africa and into Egypt, where the people became inspired by Tunisia’s success and took to the streets themselves, demanding the resignation of their dictator-president of 30 years, Hosni Mubarak. Huge fights broke out between anti-Mubarak protesters and Mubarak loyalists in the heart of Cairo, until Mubarak succumbed to pressure and resigned. A temporary military government has been put into place.

The revolts didn’t stop with Egypt and Tunisia. Throughout January the countries of Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Jordan, Bahrain, Yemen, and Iran have all been experiencing their own protests. Some of these have also turned deadly, as in Libya, where snipers have been killing men, women and children in the protests. Now the Libyan president’s son has announced that its government will wage civil war and fight “to the last bullet.”

So where does this leave us? Well, it’s obvious where it leaves our politicians. It was only days into the Egyptian revolution when America’s Obama was announcing his full support of the anti-Mubarak protesters and that he believed change should happen “now”. Britain’s Cameron is now publicizing the UK’s status as new Egypt’s “friend”.

Cairo

I don’t blame them. Mr. Obama stepped into power of a country disliked by many across the world for its unwanted presence in other countries’ affairs, these including countries in North Africa and the Middle East. I can’t blame him for wanting to brighten America’s battered image in these countries by befriending the protesters of Egypt. The same goes for Cameron, although I don’t think Britain has to work on its image as much as the U.S. Of course, whether these politicians’ motivations are really image-based or economically-based (the Middle East controlling 70% of the world’s oil) is left up to debate. The point is, is that Egypt is a powerful voice in the Islamic world, and the Western leaders want to get on their good side for once.

However, I’m not so sure that Obama’s statement of Mubarak stepping down “now” was correct. Mubarak made it clear he was going to resign, but that he was afraid of a power-vacuum that would be left after he was gone. Having a authoritarian government for 30 years makes the idea of this “power-vacuum” not an unreasonable one. If we step back and look at past revolutions, like the Russian Revolution, we can see that the overthrowing of governments do not always result in a better country. The Tsarist government had been toppled only to be replaced by a worse government – the Communists. So the idea of worse men seizing power in Egypt – and in other countries – is a possibility.

Russian Revolution of 1917

I believe this is a case where the UN should step into to work with the people to have a fair, democratic vote for the new leadership of Egypt and other Islamic countries. However, the UN should tread carefully in these countries to not over-step boundaries. Revolutions are always extreme and uncertain times. It is impossible to tell whether things will turn for the better, or for the worse.

That being said, I praise the people of Tunisia and Egypt for standing up to political repression and taking a bold step towards democracy.  It is time for the corrupt authoritarian rulers of North Africa and the Middle East to step down and pave the way for their countries democratic futures. For now we can only hope for these revolutions will come to a peaceful end – and that these changes are indeed for the better.

What we’re left with after music died

Now I’m not talking about Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper.  I’m not talking about a specific plane crash that killed off the world’s good music.  And I don’t mean to sound like some hippie raving about the “good old days”, but even brain-fried hippies have a little sense to them.  One thing is for certain though, good music is dead.


            When I say “music” that’s a general term.  I’m sure good operas are still being written out there.  What I’m talking about is popular music, the kind that’s played on the big radio stations and have masses of people flocking to concerts over.  That’s the kind that was sadly killed.

            It didn’t happen in a day, like the song ‘American Pie’ claims.  In fact, after Holly, Valens and the Bopper were killed in the fifties, a lot of good music was born.  But let us take a trip through time and – like CSI – try and deduce when and how good music was killed.  After “the day the music died” in the fifties, a lot of good music was actually born.  Take the sixties; The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Byrds – all good bands, with creative riffs, that are still played today.  These paved the way for the seventies, where musicians like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix and the Eagles made it on the big stage. In my opinion, that was the height of good music, where songs like Stairway to Heaven would have made Mozart cringe in jealousy. 

Then we have the eighties, where there were still good up-and-coming musicians, but “pop” music had become widely popular.  Artists like Michael Jackson became the number one entertainers.  Now Jackson had some good songs, and I’m not saying he specifically killed good music, but he definitely had a hand in it.  Now that pop music was the big thing in the eighties, it caught like wildfire in the nineties, and with this, a new malicious idea was formed.

Boy bands and girl groups.  Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, N’ Sync – groups with little talent that distracted audiences from this truth by choreographed dancing.  Along with this came hip-hop, rap, and more pop music with different styles.  What is the end result? What does it all come to?

A “band” that has got where it has solely because of the Disney marketing machine.  Someone’s brilliant idea that three brothers, who know how to hold a guitar in the right position, would be the biggest thing since the Beatles.  Now, I hate to compare the Jonas Brothers with the legendary Beatles, but the JoBros have pretty much done it, haven’t they?  Why? Because good music has died. 
   

Now, in modern music’s defense, you might argue that there are great singers like Celine Dion.  But that’s the key word there.  Singers.  Might as well be karaoke singers, they just sing words that someone wrote for them, in a tune someone else made up.  If it has a good beat, regardless of if the artist is a computer or not, that’s what people will listen to. 

What do I define as good music? Original music that can be recognized throughout the ages. This is why you hear classic rock radio stations playing music written half a century ago. Truly good songs don’t get chucked within a day, like an inattentive child with a new book. However, this exact good and original music that I’m talking about has been six feet under in a coffin for so long that most of us have forgotten it. 

Is it possible to resurrect good music?  Sure, if we can find some true musicians out there, and they are out there.  But producers will produce what’s popular out there and unfortunately, it’s all singers and no real musical talent.  We can always hope though, that one day good music will walk out of its grave and into the light.  If we can remember.