Revolution Fatigue

I have been only vaguely following the story in Egypt. I think this is because I have 'revolution fatigue'. This is a term that I have literally just coined, but it is essentially a dislike of 24-hour rolling news. While news of protests and revolution are fascinating, intriguing, and can reveal a lot about a country or region, 24 hour news has basically made them bland and boring. The media then has to revert to hyperbole and sensationalism in order to spice up their dull and repetitious 30 seconds of stock footage:

"Egypt descends into chaos as protesters roam streets"

"Looters win the day in scenes of anarchy"

"Mubarak hangs by a thread as rioters decimate economy"

I just made all those up. But imagining Alastair Stewart uttering those words isn't so tough.

What should be interesting is made into a spectacle. News no longer has an impact upon us because we are subjected to it so often.

Which is partly why this picture is quite so amazing. It shows a couple of Egyptian Christians holding hands, forming part of a large circle to protect vulnerable Egyptian Muslims while they prayed. There have also been reports of Muslims guarding Coptic churches while Christians worship.

I didn't hear much of this on the news, but apparently it has been shown. I'm glad there is some good news coming out of Egypt. Let's hope and pray the unrest ends soon, that Muslims and Christians don't need to protect each other from crowds and police, and the Middle East finds some modicum of peace soon.