Mubarak has been president of Egypt since the 1981 assassination of then president, Anwar Sadat. During the subsequent 30 years, Mubarak has been 're-elected' by his own parliament three times, and then once again in a fraudulant, fixed, multi-party election in 2005. Because presidential elections occur every 6 years in Egypt, 2011 was to mark the next occasion in which Mubarak could rig not just his own re-election, but, even worse for the Egyptian people,
arrange for his son, Gamal, to take over the reins of government for the next 30 years or so.
What we are watching now in Egypt is the drive of a people to survive. Great poverty and lack of social mobility are two realities for almost every Egyptian, even those with advanced degrees. Eventually, every people under such a yolk will revolt against their aristocratic 'leaders' who refuse to hold free and fair elections. It's in our mammalian DNA...
Today it was reported that a female polar bear swam 426 miles over nine days without a stop (426 miles!) because she couldn't find land or ice on which to rest.
On the way her only cub perished, and the mother bear lost 107 pounds of body weight, or around 22% of her total, during her marathon swim. Nine of those days she swam without a rest, but she also swam an additional first day, after which she rested up for her further feat!
Due to melting Arctic ice, thousands of polar bears are starving to death or drowning when the ice around them is literally melting under their feet. They have been turning to cannabilism to survive, if need be, or are simply swimming until they sink. And we share about 99% of our DNA traits with bears (and rats, and chimps, and other mammals).
All life forms have an inherent drive to survive, and thereby to reproduce. And while plants are impressively endurant in a non-ambulatory manner, mammals show their endurance on the move. Polar bears and other species resist the oppression of a changing climate by fleeing, since the climate cannot be fought. Humans will have to fight the climate since there are too many of us to flee very far. But we can and do fight all the oppressors we can fight, especially totalitarian governments that keep that vast majority of humans in abject poverty.
The Egyptian protestors have only been 'swimming' for five days, and they are resting every night. They can swim for many years at this rate, if they really need to. The French Revolutions lasted ten years. The American Revolution lasted eight. Our DNA is tough; nearly invincible.
The drive to survive, and thrive, is always alive.
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