Tweeting Against Tyranny

  1. People can behave and think pragmatically only when they have something to lose. Impoverished, we become radicals incapable of compromise. 4:38 PM May 29th
  2. So the Wall is still standing and my head bleeds! So what? At least I have something to warm me, to cover my shame. My blood is my fig leaf. 7:29 PM May 29th
  3. Those who reduce our current dilemma to a choice between peace and freedom deprive us of both. 10:48 PM May 29th
  4. We fight for freedom. We fight for peace. We fight for justice. We fight for hope. We fight for love. Fighting is how we communicate best. 12:36 AM May 30th
  5. If you want to change the world, then put something of yourself in it. That’s the best recipe for change I know, for better or worse. 8:19 PM May 31st
  6. My obsessiveness is the only thing that compensates for my cynicism. As both grow, I can only hope that the final balance favors obsession. 10:36 PM May 31
  7. The trial of regional war is upon us, it might take a few more years, but it is unstoppable. The Peace of the Slave always gives way to war 10:53 PM May 31
  8. Faith provides comfort not solutions, and though people need both to lead a healthy life, they often have to settle for one. We are all sick 6:06 PM, June 1
  9. For iconoclasts like me, practicing what we preach is often a trap from which we can never emerge. Living up to our ideals is our punishment 11:48 AM Jun 2nd
  10. The problem with the Muslim World is that it is neither Muslim nor a World, but a hodgepodge of meshed identities each a world by itself. about 8 hours ago
  11. A US president cannot afford to be dismissive or vague regarding issues of democracy and human rights. In his Cairo speech Obama was. Alas. 4:57 PM Jun 4th
  12. My disillusionment with high-end politics is now complete. I am back where I started, completely dedicated to grassroots activism. 7:16 PM Jun 4th
  13. Connecting grassroots electorates on both sides of the Democracy Divide is how hearts and minds can truly be won. 7:17 PM Jun 4th
  14. I believe in the leadership potential of the Common Man, the Average Joe, the Down-To-Earth Individual, the Everyday Hero.7:20 PM Jun 4th
  15. If there is any salvific potential left in this world, it won’t be found in intellectual circles but in the hearts and minds of average men 7:25 PM Jun 4th
  16. The need for continuous crisis management does not preclude the need for developing an endgame. Politics with no endgame lead to disaster. 9:23 PM Jun 4th
  17. Too much evil goes unpunished, and too much good unrewarded. This is our tragedy- life goes on regardless of considerations of good and evil 1:34 AM Jun 7th
  18. There is no mercy inherent in the world, only the one we make for ourselves. 3:24 PM Jun 8th
  19. All evils are equal, and none is necessary. We are simply unable to fight them all with equal vigor. So, we prioritize and justify. 3:25 PM Jun 8th
  20. All our philosophies are nothing more than meaningless assertions. The only truth out there is that we exist and we may never know why. 2:11 AM Jun 9th
  21. The manner of our death says nothing about us. The way we live, on the other hand, could say plenty…if only we had a firm grasp of it. 2:41 AM Jun 9th
  22. True happiness is found in those dull moments in our daily life which we so casually dole out to each other as families and friends. 12:54 AM Jun 10th
  23. Sweeping generalizations and idiotic stereotypes continue to dictate how we see each other, how we interact. They are the invisible tyrants. 3:44 PM Jun 10th
  24. History stands on the side of power, that’s why few tyrants were ever punished for their crimes, and why justice remains illusory even today 10:31 PM Jun 11
  25. Liberty, in the institutional sense and not merely as an aspiration, is a relatively recent invention. It’s fragile and far from universal 10:53 PM Jun 11
  26. Liberty is not an inevitable product of the historical process, it is the inevitable product of self-sacrifice, of fighting against the odds 11:10 PM Jun 11
  27. Only organized self-sacrifice and foolhardiness can compensate for History’s structural bias towards the inertia of tyranny and power. 11:41 PM Jun 11
  28. You want change? Yes you can get it, but don’t expect the world to play along. It won’t. The initial inertia will be hard to overcome. 11:59 PM Jun 11
  29. Once the forces of change are unleashed, direct control will be impossible. Outcome will depend on organizational and navigational skills. 1:41 AM Jun 12
  30. The only form of patriotism that makes any sense in our MENA societies is to work against the established political and socioeconomic order 1:21 AM Jun 12
  31. We cannot make a complete break from the past, nor should we, but we can go for a fresh start, new interpretations and novel insights. 1:32 AM Jun 12
  32. It is the present that we should reject, our present, not the past. Our powerlessness reflects our current realities not past heritage. 1:37 AM Jun 12
  33. Our conflicts, backwardness, the unfairness of the international order, our ruling regimes feed off these problems, they won’t solve them. 1:51 AM Jun 12
  34. The struggle for basic liberties is our number one priority at this stage. Liberty is the way for addressing our developmental challenges. 1:58 AM Jun 12