The History of mankind revolves around revolutions. Whether it’s information or industrial revolutions or the more sinister kind in the form of political or social revolutions, they all one thing in common: All deliver a paradigm shift that enables mankind to improve upon his past sooner or later.
There are exceptions to this statement such as the Bolshevik Revolution or the more extremist Islamic ones. But eventually, their remnants will disappear to revel a more enlightened era.
Like many political revolutions in the past, be it the French Revolution of 1789 or its American counterpart started in 1774 or the series of the Latin Revolutions in the early 19th century, they all moved from radicalism to constitutional systems of government. The Russians will eventually reach this apogee and so will all Muslim countries. The latter will find solace and wisdom in either separatism or Islamic antinomianism (The return to divinity as the ultimate faith)
Our Syrian Revolution is one year old today. Behind all Syrians and the world as their witness is a panoramic view of some of the most horrific videos and images that the western world has experienced in the 21st century. By any measure of our imagination, the Syrian Revolution has shattered beliefs, perceptions, understandings, and convictions. Those who lapped like poodles the Assad misinformation campaign claiming to pursue peace with Israel or stability through strength, including those who danced around the Assads’ past atrocities to serve their own self-interests, are suddenly silenced by one image of a grieving mother or a video of a young Syrian opening his chest to deadly sniper bullets.
The preeminent reason for discovering the real faces of terror behind those Facebook pages of smiles, designer clothes, and waving hands of friendship are the Americans and the Europeans. Without their technology assistance, pinhole cameras, and satellite linkages, the world would have never witnessed the savagery of the Assad family. Maybe Nokia‘s mobile video capability captures the happy smiles of Christmas in Norway but it also captured the ugly face of humanity when left festering over the fate of a whole nation and beyond.
If the Syrian Revolution images and videos were heartbreaking to many, especially to Syrians in exile who felt powerless in the beginning but eventually found ways to help their people, just imagine for a moment the tragedy of life itself under Assad during not only the last year but the last 42 years plus. Imagine, for a moment, that what we are witnessing today represents a portion of what really goes on or went on for almost a half century. Imagine a gathering of the Assad men in a room discussing ways of subduing the Revolution by any means possible using textbook examples the Soviet people experienced under Stalin or the Ugandans under Idi Amin or the Sudanese under Omar al-Bachir.
The courage at display by the Syrian people in the face of true barbarism is a reminder to all of how serious this Revolution is. When history is written about this episode of Syrian life or even the region, the impact and results of the Syrian Revolution will be central to explaining its brighter future for generations to come. This sounds like an optimistic prediction but past Revolutions with such tenacity and determination have always changed the course of history.
The Syrian people, in a collective effort, are about to end the era of one of the most ruthless families of the 20th century. It is a Revolution that is about to force Khameini to kneel for prayers of salvation, one that is about to spark more conclusive Revolutions in other Arab countries chronically ill with devastating diseases of corruption and cronyism, and one that has awakened a new Cold War era. This Revolution will impose political necessities in the form of new treaties or policies that will change the region forever. In short, the Syrian Revolution created a new form of life and new energies the region has rarely experienced before and is definitely in dire need of. It’s a Revolution for the ages to be studied, debated, and lauded for its perseverance and moxie.
Many countries experience tragedies but courage always extracts the part in our souls most vulnerable to our humanity. We can deny arguments and we can resist definitions but humans are weak when they see courage in all its glory because just courage almost always breeds success. And there is nothing like success to attract the unbelievers to your cause and to your side. The expected success is compelling even the most ardent supporters of the Assad regime to either take the sidelines, defect, or wear their life jackets in anticipation of a rough landing. It’s creating, under extreme penalties for failure, covert opportunities the regime cannot continually stay on-guard against.
There are some effective realists who see this Revolution for what it can or can’t conclude today in the service of one nation or interests. One can even argue that their realism, as logical as it seems, strikes a chord amongst a select group of influential people who long ago have traded vision for practicality, predictions for pragmatism. Many will adhere to their views. But lack of vision of what this Revolution means does not qualify us to ignore its potential. No one is right but no one is a censor of history either. What this Syrian Revolution will or will not accomplish on a scale to have the deep impact I am predicting is inconsequential if one drowns himself in the debate it is generating today. How our Revolution is shaping our decision-making process today and how best to take advantages of it to defeat an opponent or an ideology is the priority of many involved in its direction. The big picture, though, will be in full view long after our generation has yielded its wisdom to a finer generation.
So while the killing goes on and our tragedy resonates around the world, Syria’s future today resembles France’s future in the post Bastilles era. It also resembles the era of the pre-Continental Congress and the Constructional triumph in the birth of a new nation. No matter who the opposition is and no matter how the next generation of Syrians ascend to power, the responsibility that will be heaved upon our shoulders will yield greater men and women with a greater purpose in the service of Syrians. Waiting for that firmament moment is the hard part but knowing this Revolution is planting the good seeds is a relief to those fighting ignorance and tyranny. If you see weeds growing, it’s no different than the weeds we have witnessed in the ones preceding La Cinquième République.
That’s my prediction even though many will concentrate on the negatives of an extended timeframe when they should concentrate more on what the future holds for the region.
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