Americans and Egyptians face the National Security State on Black Friday Differently

Juan Cole 11/23/2012

Americans face an erosion of the rights they fought for in their revolution (checks and balances on executive power, right to privacy from government snooping, right to due process, right to have the people decide things, not kings and popes)

But they gathered in masses to celebrate consumerism on Black Friday:

Egyptians face an erosion of the rights they fought for in their revolution (checks and balances on executive power, right to privacy from government snooping, right to due process, right to have the people decide things, not dictators and theocrats)

The Egyptians mobilized on Friday throughout the country to protest against creeping dictatorship and demand the people’s rights:

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page