Watching the world wake up from history

The world changed today.

For the last 18 days the world has watched as the people of Egypt, mostly young folks, have flowed into the streets in mostly peaceful demonstrations calling for the resignation of their President. For many of the protestors, President Mubarak is the only leader they have ever known. That's hard to fathom for us as Americans. Watching this whole experinence has made me even more grateful that we have a peaceful transfer of power between our Presidents and other public officials. Despite our differences, we rarely feel the need to take to the streets in order to be heard. We simply cast a different ballot at the next election.

I was a freshman in college in the fall of 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down. I remember watching with awe and excitement as the people of a divided nation walked across thru the gate without fear of arrest or death. Some of them saw family for the first time. Some scaled the wall and popped champagne. Some started playing music on top of the wall. All over Berlin people took to the streets in celebration. I also remember a generation or two older than I worried about what a unified Germany would mean. Their memories of that single country included the rise of Hitler and the horrors that followed and the rule of Communism. Suddenly, as we watched on network and some cable television, we saw a revolution of sorts and rejoiced with cautious optisim. Tonight we watch again, on television, the internet, facebook, and Twitter, with the same questions of what this means for Egypt, the Middle East, the United States, and the rest of the world. As I write this, some 12+ hours since the announcement that Mubarak had resigned, the celebration continues in the streets of Cairo and Alexandria.

So, why do we 'take to the streets'? In good times and bad, people seem to go outside. It's interesting. I've grown up hearing stories of sit-ins and peace rallies during the 60s. During the build-up to the war in Iraq, people gathered to protest the war or support the troops. In 1992, when a judge acquited police officers in the Rodney King trial, the streets of LA errupted in violence and flames as the citizens of South Central expressed their rage in the only way they knew how. After 9/11 there was a night when everyone was asked to go out on their porches and light a candle. When our favorite team wins a championship, we gather for celebration, usually with a parade or pep-rally. I remember the night the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl. I called my sister in New Orleans who said that block parties were spontaneously breaking out all over the place. The French Quarter was teaming with people. I could hear fireworks, yells, and honking horns in the background. I also remember the night President Obama was elected. I called my brother who told me he and a group of friends were standing outside drinking champage and celebrating. And for the last 18 days, the people of Egypt have gone outside and said in one voice that they were staying as long as it took. Yesterday, when it looked as if Mubarak was digging in and not leaving, even more people came out to join the throng of people already at Liberation Square. And finally, this morning when the resignation was announced, I think all of Cairo went outside.

I asked myself 'why do we do this?". Tonight, on CNN, I think I heard the answer. I mean, I get the whole being together, thing. But I heard a young Egyptian being interviewed as the sun rose over Cairo, and he talked about walking across the bridge that leads into the city. He described the scene and the people and the noise. He then got a little choked up as he described the children dancing in the street and chanting "hold your head up - we are Egyptians". He walked along that bridge in his country - now changed forever - and observed his human family celebrating together. That's what it comes down to. The human family celebrating, protesting, raging, exisiting - together.

The scenes of the dancing, the bumper-to-bumper traffic, the make-shift food tents, the flags and banners -are all stunning images of a people who, yesterday, felt that they had no voice, and today, have finally been heard. May God be with them as they rejoice and move carefully into the future.

Jesus Christ is raging,
Raging in the streets,
Where injustice spirals
And real hope retreats.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I am angry too.
In the Kingdom’s causes
Let me rage with you.

Jesus Christ is healing,
Healing in the streets;
Curing those who suffer,
Touching those he greets.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I have pity too.
Let my care be active,
Healing just like you.

Jesus Christ is dancing,
Dancing in the streets,
Where each sign of hatred
He, with love, defeats.
Listen, Lord Jesus,
I should triumph too.
On suspicion’s graveyard
Let me dance with you.