Letter to Dr. Baradei

Dear Sir,







You have come at a beautiful and turbulent time in my country’s history, and have been given the opportunity to be a great driver of change and hope. You have stepped in with the drive and zeal demonstrated by great leaders, and then slightly retreated with the caution shown too often by diplomats.


Now I know that you definitely have more knowledge, depth, and experience than I could personally ever hope to amass, and that is exactly the reason why I personally put so much hope in you to inject enthusiasm, change, and participation into our political and social engagement.


Let me elaborate a little more on that:
I do not expect you to become the leader, but I would very much welcome your heightened and consistent involvement in the most active of times. Some have argued for and some against your travels, and against the fluctuating rates of your personal involvement in the political sphere, and my personal belief is very clear:
To become a proponent of such dramatic change, Sir, you must be involved to the bone, to the hilt, to have burnt your bridges, and to inspire us all to see that the only way to go is forward.


Dear Sir,


Though this may not be the most fortunate of times on the political scene, it is still your good luck that you are physically able to do what you, and do so in very fertile grounds.


Modern technology has allowed you to remotely address the young and old people of this country and to inspire them, but what they demand of you will be more. They will demand of you to be the commitment and passion that you must be. YouTube is good, but YouStreet will be even better. People will demand and you must be proud when they do.


With respect


Z

Why start a blog?

It is still only fifth posting on my blog, but I already feel like I have something to go back to when I want to make a point about anything. I attach a great deal of importance to my blog regardless of the number of readers I have (but not regardless of some great encouragement by a few friends). My blog allows me to think more deeply about ideas that cross my mind, gives me an excuse to comment on thoughts, events, concepts, public issues, pretty much everything.


Here are a few good ones for why I like blogs:


1. Most writers started out small and then grew because people loved their writing, may be one could be one of them.
2. You can write and assume that the whole world reads you, or eventually will.
3. It gives you a wonderful excuse to say, yes, I did post that on my blog.
4. I like the sound of ‘’my blog’’.

5. My blog

6. Once someone learns about your blog, they may be completely surprised by the number of things about you that surprise them.

7. The best part is that you can start addressing public figures and remote personalities under the pretense that they may be reading you. Using technology to your benefit and linking this social website to the other you might end up being read by someone who actually knows them.

8. My blog

9. The next posting will be a letter addressed to a public figure.
10. Most importantly, it allows me to feel like I can start to actively participate in things that really matter - so without much ado, here is me going on to participate.

Z

Why do I fear the woman at the bank?

I have developed into a pretty outgoing person, who over the years has learned to appreciate the value of being outright, open, and sometimes even a little confrontational. Of course people who have known me for a long time still insist that my ‘’diplomatic’’ nature often takes over, but I call it thinking before I speak.

I confront and demand my rights when I am buying something, when someone is cutting in front me at a queue; I may even interfere physically when I see injustice being inflicted on someone (and end up feeling like a modern day hero), and generally I look at myself as a man with a healthy self-esteem.

But where I am still meek, slightly broken, and overwhelmed by a sense of guilt is when I am dealing with any resemblance of bureaucracy. Be it a license renewal, an ID issuance, military papers, notary, even the bank, anything makes me feel like I am demanding what isn’t mine. I enter the day as if I were about to start a dangerous and excruciating mission, and once I am done I feel victorious and above all, grateful. Grateful to the soldier who gives me the stamp that says I may travel, grateful to that grumpy man who has been kind enough to accept my presence in front of his desk, grateful to that lady who has reluctantly tolerated me on a chair next to her desk despite the fact that there aren’t enough customer chairs at the bank. And, if I am not at the bank, then grateful to those that will indicate they may be willing to accept my tips in return for helping me. You should see how I almost stutter and struggle to keep my voice straight and my request short, concise, polite, respectful, and manage to maintain my self-respect in the process.

Then why, you may ask, do you put up with this? My answer is short and sweet; we have been raised in a bureaucracy to understand that rights should not be demanded, they should be asked, begged, and bribed for. Why they may be granted is supposed to be beyond your comprehension and should not be subject to your evaluation or speculation. It should be considered good fortune that may disappear forever if questioned.

So this is why I fear the woman at the bank, because she has the upper hand and I don’t.

Z

P.S: She turned out to be a very helpful and sweet woman after all, could it be because I was very respectful?