Huffington Post Bloggers on Mubarak's Resignation and the Lessons From Egypt

On Friday, after more than two weeks of steadily growing antigovernment protests, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down, ceding his power to the country's Higher Military Council. Here are bloggers' reactions to the news.

Scott MacLeod

Former TIME Middle East correspondent, Professor at American University in Cairo

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My Love, Egypt

How sweet is the air of Egyptian freedom. In all of Cairo and Egypt, a nation exalts in its liberation. Through the evening and into the early morning, I stood in Tahrir Square as they sang and danced.

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Comments

[Grannyover70]

04:56 PM on 02/13/2011

My Father said when I was young, "We hope good people change things in our country
peacefully" because history has taught us that you cannot keep people down forever, they will
always rise up for change," I was a young white girl then who did not understand segegation, but I
think it is what is happening in all of these countries.So far, there has been no violence in this
struggle.

These politicians do not fool me. They are talking when they should be listening. They have
no idea how Egypt will handle this opportunity for change. We can pray our Christian, Muslim,
Jewish, etc. prayers for them. I am certain God is listening. Or if you are not religious, a
good thoughtful silence might be helpful.

[More Left than Liberal]

03:43 PM on 02/13/2011

The lesson from Egypt should have been learned decades ago with Iran
And the lesson was that opposing self determination and supporting unpopular dictators is sure to backfire

We clearly didn't learn our lesson in time for Egypt. As we were giving them billions in weapons right up till the end. I suspect it will costs us just like it did in Iran, and we aren't necessarily going to like all the policies Egypt decides on.

Perhaps we will learn it in time for the Saudi Revolution. Or Jordan, Yemen, Uzbekistan, ect.
I suspect not.

[Justice1]

01:47 PM on 02/13/2011

Onward to Yemen, Algeria, next stop IRAN

[emerywood]

01:41 PM on 02/13/2011

The power now is in the hands of the military which for 30 years has been on the side of Mubarak and
under his command. I think this is a precariuos situation and not quite a revolution in the sense that the
people have won. The people should tone down their euphoria and plan for the next step which is a
general election with to find a credible leader that most people approve. Twenty percent of the people are
with the Muslim Brotherhood and that could easily translate into a majority. Their position is unclear at this
time. Their position with Mubarak and the military in the past have not been antogonistic either.

[DrJykell]

10:16 AM on 02/13/2011

So far my most satisfying experience online has been this attention being paid to the oppressed in this world and then watching an entire population rise up against those who have taken advantage of them for decades...

I can't help but notice this same reality forming right here in America with priorities going to the military, wall st, and the CEO's of Healthcare insurance corporations over the needs of the less fortunate with cuts being proposed in education, medicare and the raising of the retirement age..

Govt for the ppl should take a good look at the new trends being brought about by this flood of information the internet is supplying everyone because sooner or later it will empower many to begin understanding when a govt is working for and against their interests...

[lyingtruth]

09:26 AM on 02/13/2011

These lucky bloggers need go no further than to our comments for the best subject matter, insight, wordsmithing and a clever personality for their writing...!

You may bow to us.

[piul05]

08:16 AM on 02/14/2011

:-)))

[Glen V]

07:11 AM on 02/13/2011

Don't believe it, they don't have a 2A.

[J E Mugford]

06:30 PM on 02/12/2011

The events of the past few weeks in Egypt bring out some very interesting linkages. My 16 year old son happens to be watching the 1982 movie Gandhi, conversations in my house have been largely about non-violent protests and political movements as we watched in fascination and hope as events in Cairo evolved. The power of the Egyptian revolution is that it was organized and orchestrated by young, educated and technically savvy men and women. What this means to the middle east in the near future is hard to tell, but what it means to the world in the long term is clear, it means that the free flow of information and communication leads to peace.
The truth is that the revolutionaries had a better grasp of the real world than those in the power structure did. . What the revolutionaries saw was that a peaceful and thoughtful movement with clear cut objectives could be communicated effectively. They also saw that repression of such a movement would accelerate rather than slow the changes they were after. The power of the concept was seen Thursday night when the regime disappointed the protesters, a move that might have been calculated to bring about violent response but failed in that attempt. The protesters saw that by holding their ground, but not giving in to violence they held the upper hand in both the world stage and locally.

[morphyous]

05:11 PM on 02/12/2011

Sitting in my warm House, with food in the Fridge, no armed gunmen on street corners, a decent income, a Car in the Drive, and the latest of technology at my finger tips, I am brought to tears by the incredible courage of the Egyptian people. It is so overwhelming, that I feel ashamed , ashamed that I take all the blessings bestowed on me , so for granted. We have been lulled into dependency ,and a sense of such entitlement. President Obama said it best," Egyptians, you have inspired us". Lets be so inspired once in awhile, to appreciate the great Country, and Freedoms we do enjoy, instead of always screaming for little things that we don't. Freedom is something worth Screaming for, Congratulations Egyptian people, my Heart is with you.

[Overd0g2]

10:13 PM on 02/13/2011

In America, we scream for free goodies, not free-dom.

[realitytrumpsbull]

12:12 PM on 02/12/2011

In one of the headline things it's talking about how Ahmenidinijad's saying that Egypt's uprising is going to doom israel and break free of American influence etc. I guess he doesn't realize that TRUE American influence isn't about supporting dictatorships, and that a free Egypt where the people ARE 'the government' is kind of antithetical to him and his powermongering ways. What a clown. But, in the 21st century, theocracy and dictatorship just aren't 'the haps' anymore. It's a new era. And, Asia's going to be moving and changing faster than America could ever hope to even keep up, they're going to be in the passing lane, not just economically and industrially, but also politically and socially. Enough to make your head spin. But, that's what we get for living in a world that spins on its' axis every 24 hours and whipping around the sun once a year, there's always change, not always the kind you wanted, but it's a good thing, too, because if we weren't spinning and orbiting and stuff like that, we'd crash into the sun, or something.  Where will Iran be, in 20 years? Still living it 9th century?

[messy]

12:02 PM on 02/12/2011

I was going to comment, but I decided to write about inflation instead.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-lurio/dipsey-doodle-bags-a-lead_b_821278.html

The problem of inflation is important for most of us, and on monday, I'll discuss the succession crisis in Saudi Arabia, which may be the "next big thing."

[myrtle1909]

11:44 AM on 02/12/2011

The Egyptian people must make sure that they are the ones who make the decisions on who runs the country. They must not accept a close ally of Mubarak who was the reason for the uprising in their country. I read that Mubarak appointed Suleiman his coloest aide as Vice President. That should not be acceptable. It would make it too easy for Suleiman to ease into power and take over the reins Mubarak left behind. If they want true democracy they should not accept anyone as their leader with close ties to Mubarak.

[realitytrumpsbull]

12:18 PM on 02/12/2011

Well, they were saying that it's kind of military rule, right now, so did they REALLY have a revolution, or just a changing of the guard, same-o old power structure underneath it all? I say the day that the cargo boats show up to take all the tanks away and sell them off to some other country or even better, off to the scrapper, is the day they've really kicked the military dictatorship habit.  In other words, time will tell, political posturing and facades know no end...people love to play games and misrepresent themselves and their intentions. I think honesty, liberty, and freedom are better. But, I'm not the pharaoh.  And, maybe in the future, egypt won't need a pharaoh, or a furryherring, or any other kind of autocrat, uniformed or otherwise.

And, bonus round, maybe when Egypt settles out to whatever it'll end up being in the future, maybe that'll kind of spread like a virus, and other countries long accustomed to machine guns, sand bags, and barbed wire and so forth and so on, will be going for the makeover, too.

[Joan Smith]

09:17 AM on 02/13/2011

including the US government?!

[delta7777]

02:57 AM on 02/12/2011

.
social networking coups may eventually replace elections
.

[Radx28]

10:23 PM on 02/11/2011

Everyone who has ever marveled at Egyptian history cannot help but root for a humane solution that brings Egypt back to a prominent position in the world.

Bu-bu-but, the next positive milestone will only be known when these people get hungry and return to their same-old, same-old jobs If progress continues, we'll have some reason to believe that the cronies now in charge will actually make real, long term concessions. Time is not on the side of the Tahririan Square crowd. Within our Democracy, it took us 200 years after our revolution before we granted full rights to major segments of our society, and we fought quite a bit during the interim.

[eric14]

07:28 AM on 02/12/2011

The original Aim of the American Revolution was to deprive many segments of the people of their rights. The aim of the Egyptian Revolution is to establish equal rights for all.

[messy]

12:03 PM on 02/12/2011

?????? Where did you get that gem?

[BoricuaBaron]

10:52 PM on 02/12/2011

The name states it all must be 14 year old kid or a grown man who huffs propane, that could come with that kind of statement. We really need to be careful what teachers are teaching in school, read a history book. The British were so nice to us they tryed attack us several times after war, "rights really" English had a king back then that was a dicator at the same time.

[Gandhifan]

09:50 AM on 02/12/2011

Yes, but people don't simply learn from their local experiences, they learn from the collective experience of all nations. Evolution is a continous process and it is not bound by borders. What is learnt in America or Egypt or India is a lesson learnt all over the world. All countries go through pain to establish human rights and dignity, but no one ever goes back to the autocratic, devisive ways. Humanity is destined to move towards love and acceptance not hatred and destruction. Granted there are setbacks and regressions along the way, but the process continues. A step in the direction of freedom, is a step towards a better world and for that all people on this planet today must rejoice!

[CharlinSusie]

04:58 PM on 02/13/2011

What a great statement. The human souls aim for higher and higher levels of freedom transcend generations, communities, nations, and world "alliances". The truth always marches on!

[Parsifals]

06:51 PM on 02/11/2011

Fast tracking the news seems to take away from the day of celebration for the Egyptians--another day for these write-ups wouldn't have made the bloggers opinions less relevant, but perhaps more supportive one this momentous day.