Direction, Direction: The Night of Election

A good friend of mine did something that when people our age get to do it, I'm very interested to help out. She got in touch with al Jazeera International to send them video feeds from her mobile camera phone by taping some Egyptians impressions of the elections.

So she send a group of us an email inviting us first to breakfast to discuss our opinions and then last night hosted us (actually her friend did) and filmed our impressions while the election was on-going. So from about 12:30 am until 7 in the morning we were all in her friends' house, munching, smoking, studying, and hanging out. Every hour or so she would tape one of our impressions and send it to al Jazeera.

al Jazeera International aired the videos to show how people within and outside the United States interacted with the elections, election day, and the candidates. Not the most innovative manner to think of for me but they hosted some important public intellectuals to talk about the candidates and their potential. Robert Fisk is, for me, the most notable although Mahatir, the ex-Prime Minister of Malaysia, spoke too.

If you flipped through the pages of the International Herald Tribue or the BBC World News Service, you would find a very well-posed "The World is Watching," which al Jazeera also had (or something similar to it.)

It got me to think that its necessary to contest that while America and Americans have no problem thinking of their role in foreign policies and domestic affairs (and this is common for both those on the Left and Right from the Moderate to the Radical, few are concerned in even unfettering Americans' disregard for the opinions of the subjects they have no problem interfering or supporting an interference from.

Until BBC News, IHT, and al Jazeera all made the same point. Online. On Paper. On Videos. It was put out there. I think these strategies are important and timely, because they're 1. not rude (yes, tell me I sound like my grandmother) 2. Not framed as confrontational (which to me, if tackled properly, is much more conducive to thought) 3. They disseminate ideas we're seemingy to forget (or have we ever remember this to begin with?) are important in upholding.

Just a few thoughts.
And my ride is here. It's a sign.