It seems that after the ouster of Mubarak attention has been directed towards twitter, facebook and social media more than anything else; arguably even more than pornography.
Yes the internet and social media helped the people’s cause in the MENA region, but this social media mania has eclipsed the things that really matter.
Not only did the uprisings show that there’s always hope of emancipation, they also proved that governments are not that important.
The role of government, ideally, is to regulate. That’s it. Regulate imports or exports, immigration, local markets, anything that would be severely affected by excess or shortage. Security is one government role that needs de-regulation.
As was proven after the fall of Mubarak, the eloping of the interior ministry apparatus (also known as the police) didn’t have as dramatic an effect as would be imagined for a police-less state. Normal citizens organized checkpoints, neighbourhood watch and cleaning fiestas. Yes you get the occasional burglar here and there, but that’s not beyond normal citizen rule.
A while back in Sudan, being a burglar was arguably the riskiest business. If you got caught, by the people in the neighbourhood that is, you’d be praying for Godzilla to come storm the city. You’d be begging to be taken to the police station.
I think this is one main aspect of the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya (Benghazi) that has been severely neglected. After all everyone was getting their hands dirty for their country.
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