Thirst

By Ann

After two days at sea, the shipwreck survivors are hopelessly weary, sunburned, and thirsty.  The three lay in the boat rocking back and forth and the only respite from the unforgiving sun is to close their eyes.  The youngest, a teenaged boy who just days ago was playing football and flirting with girls, now stood in the boat and began to lose his mind.  His thirst had become so overwhelming and all consuming that he had to do something.  His lips were chapped and cracked and burned, but the sun just would not stop burning.  He looked at the sea and there was so much water and his lips begged him to relieve their suffering. There were so many uncertainties to reconcile.  He would die without water.  But if a ship came, he might survive.  But if that ship was filled with pirates, they might kill him.  Then again, a ship may never come.

In his state of panic and unyielding desire to live, he decides to drink.

Over the objection of the others in the boat, he leaned forward and began to violently gulp the ocean water.  And for the moment, he felt the water in his mouth and it was better.  But the water is filled with salt and it began to dehydrate him quicker than before.  His death was now imminent and certain. He would die quicker than the others.  Even if a ship were to come to the rescue, it would not be for him.  Not anymore.

Pic from www.marineecotours.com

In Egypt, the masses are engaging in a revolution.  For the last three weeks, a people have come together to protest their oppression, poverty, and corruption brought on by the autocratic governance by the same President for the last thirty years.  In response, the government banned the internet and attacked its citizens with military law and violence.  But the people persevered.  They demanded freedom, elections, rights, and a new regime.  Today they might finally see their demands come to fruition.  

Many in our country are scared.  Egypt’s leader was an ally and supported a treaty with Israel.  I know that the possibility exists that the country will no longer be a friend to the US.  They may not exist to further our interests and there might be chaos and anarchy in Egypt.  A terrorist regime might take over. 

But they might not.   

But what I do know is that an entire nation of people have to live there.  They should not have to be oppressed and abused by their government for any reason.  And if their ideals and sense of freedom differs from ours- so be it.  We should resist the urge to engage in any knee jerk, prejudicial rhetoric even if it quenches our thirst for vindication.  We might feel better for the moment if we dehumanize the Egyptians and refer to them as terrorists simply because they practice a certain religion and we may feel justified in passively agreeing to their oppression because we want their government to work for us.  But that stance is narcissistic and wrong.  We are no better than any tyrant if we close our eyes and ignore their suffering simply because we want an ally in position authority. 

Remember Nazi Germany?  Hitler literally burned an entire people in the backyards of his citizens who ignored the obvious.  So while it might feel good for the moment, let us restrain from the hateful, fearful, and relentless anti Muslim rhetoric and instead, let us rejoice at the strength of the human spirit and conviction that is exemplified in the protestors in Cairo. 

Because hate is like the ocean water.  It feels good on the surface and it satisfies a sophomoric need.  This sense of vindication is fleeting.  Hate quickly consumes us and devours our soul so that we, like the young shipwrecked man, cannot be saved even if our ship were to come.