Another Revolution?

Egypt's President, Muhammad Morsi, essentially declared himself a dictator last week.  He says this is a necessary step to bring stability to Egypt, but most Egyptians view this as a return to the politics of the past.  This time they are not willing to go along with it.  There have been protests ever since the declaration, and they are turning more violent as the days go by.  The biggest protest is expected this Tuesday.  Many opposition groups have banded together to protest Morsi and his decree.  Even some Islamist groups have joined the opposition.  On the same day, Morsi's party, the Muslim Brotherhood, is also planning a demonstration in support of Morsi.  No one expects these gatherings to be carried out peacefully.

I have talked with a couple Egyptians about this situation.  I am sure the Egyptians I know are not necessarily a representative sample of all Egyptians, but Morsi seems to be less and less supported the longer he is in office.  One lady I spoke with is frustrated that she can't just 'live her life and feed her family'.  She also is disappointed in what she calls people's selfishness.  One person supports Morsi and does something good, like cleaning up the street.  Another person comes along who doesn't support Morsi and spreads garbage along the street again.  In times past, Egyptians used to help each other and their country.  Now they have lost their sense of camaraderie and patriotism.

Another, younger woman, is proud of Egyptians.  "You have to understand, she said, "for so long Egyptians suffered under dictators and did whatever they asked.  Now, since the Revolution, the Egyptian people have decided that they will not accept another dictator.  These protests are a good thing because they show that the Egyptian people really do want democracy and justice."

On the whole, I am supportive of the protesters.  It is good that the Egyptians will no longer submit to tyrants.  However, the ousting of a tyrant is a messy process.  And in addition, the place the protesters have chosen to make a stand is again Tahrir Square— two blocks from the U.S. Embassy.  There is no sign that the protesters are targeting Americans, but there is spillover.  Molotov cocktails are being thrown near the Embassy walls, and rocks have flown over the walls.  Embassy employees were sent home early today because of the fighting, and they had to drive through areas where tear gas was being used.  My poor husband came home coughing and with eye irritation from the gas. 

We will be perfectly safe, and it will be interesting to see how this all turns out.  Most people seem to expect that Morsi will be ousted fairly soon.  For everyone's sake I certainly hope so!

UPDATE 11/30/2012:  After a week of continuing protests, this weekend is set to be the biggest yet for protesting.  Morsi has shown no serious signs of backing down, and in fact, the Constituent Assembly rushed through a vote on the constitution early Friday morning.  The only members who voted on the constitution were the extreme Islamists, as everyone else abstained in protest.  This does not mean Egypt has a new constitution yet– it will have to be ratified by popular vote to take effect.  The constitution that was passed is severely lacking in many human rights issues and also appears to establish Sharia law.  There is little doubt that this version of the constitution will fail in a popular vote, but what this vote has done is create a unified opposition party out of the multitude of smaller political parties, and intensified the feeling against Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Here's a picture of the road in front of the U.S. Embassy:

You can see that a new wall is being built, but that might not make us any friends.  The wall will push people more towards the British and Canadian Embassies.  None of these countries are targets of the protests, they just happen to be in an unfortunate location.