So current events in the Middle East have taken a sharp departure from the norm latelyand Egypt in particular has had a crazy couple of days. President Hosni Mubarak has been in power for the last 30 years and been the leader of 10 different governments in Egypt. Now, the young people of Egypt have started a revolution to oust him, using the internet as a driving and organizing force. Last Tuesday, a march in Tahrir Square drew over a million people, and many groups have also chosen to question authority, siding with the young people.
To me, one of the most significant aspects of this revolution-in-progress is the fact that the Egyptian government, under the orders of President Mubarak, has shut down cell phone and internet services to the entire country. Egyptians have had to create new ways to spread information and communicate with each other in order to stay organized. Personally, the thought of a government-mandated crackdown on the internet seems impossible, especially in the United States. So what I want to know, is if the United States could ever undergo something like what has happened in Egypt, or if the US is too big (geographically or otherwise) for a shut-down to be effective.
If any of you are interested, here are some more articles on the revolution, including a timeline that’s constantly updated.
12 comments:
Just because in the US you never hear that the government has blocked interned and telephone communications does not mean that the government has no control over our communications systems. The Patriot Act passed after the 9/11 events is a good example of the breech of the government in our lives. What I know about it comes from documentaries and articles I have read so it might be one sided but what i know blew my mind because it is coming from the So called "Most democratic" country in the world. So I guess it depends on what you are more worried about. I mean, sure I do believe that if the US government wanted they could shut off all of telecommunications. But why would they need to if they can listen into our conversations, see our text messages read our emails, etc? Our government could have as much control over us as the Egyptian government if they wanted to. The wikileaks scandal is a great example of how much goes on behind closed doors.
I agree that the Patriot Act definitely allowed the government a questionable window into the private lives of everyday citizens such as ourselves, but I feel that the wikileak is a great example for the opposite argument. If the government had complete control over the internet and our access that site would have been shut down immediately. While I agree that it certainly unveiled some disturbing facts about our government, we can not sit here and say that none of us knew the government was working behind our backs. How many times have national disasters both political and economical in foreign countries turned out to be ours? There have been unlimited numbers of scandals from our government but as people we either choose to ignore them or don't speak out enough to change the happenings that go on within the political industries of the United States.
The Iraq War is a perfect example of this. This war has now been going on for a decade and it is not as if we are suddenly questioning it now. The public has been suspicious of the occurrences overseas since the beginning and yet it continues to be fueled by our tax dollars.
America is said to be the most Democratic country in the world, yes, perhaps, but that does not mean that the undemocratic incidences are only due to a failure in leadership. As the people, we are the sovereign. If we truly had the drive to put an end to the issues we see in this country, we would be able to do so unfalteringly. The only problem is that there is a lack of questioning authority.
A very common theme in Dr. Faustus is the link between power and knowledge. By not informing ourselves and striving to be exposed to the information that is readily available, we maintain our current position: having our heads buried in the sand so to speak. Our self-imposed naivete is what creates inaction and therefore resists the type of questioning authority that is needed for change. We have so many monumental things occurring around us in the world today and all the resources to make a difference and yet we are too self-involved to act on our complaints.
Is it fear of selling our souls, like in Dr. Faustus where it is necessary to give up a holy life for the knowledge we desire? Or is it pure laziness? Where basking in inaction we are allowed to pass through life unquestioned so long as we do not question.
Whatever the origin, it is certainly concerning that the trend seems to be spiraling downward with no true end in sight. More and more incidences happen and instead of an uprising, we simply numb ourselves.
The government need not shut down all forms of communication for as a nation we have already distanced ourselves from one another so much that it seems organized rebellion is but a myth.
Even though, our country is supposed to have the greatest amount of freedom, I know that the government still holds a great deal of control. However, I cannot see them being able to cut off all lines of communication. I feel that without internet, cell phones, etc. the US would go into a state of emergency. Businesses would not be able to conduct business or prosper, schools would have to rework their curriculum to continue teaching and especially, we would not be up-to-date with the goings on of the world. All over, I feel that the government would never cut off our ability to communicate.
Although, I agree that The Patriot Act gives the government complete access to our lives. I still feel that there are flaws within the act, I think much information still goes under the radar. All in all, I cannot see our country's right to communicate being cut off.
I think the government has the ability to shut down our internet, cell phones, etc..., but if they did I believe that they would be infringing on our freedom of speech. To me that's like telling the public that they just shut down everything we had to say and how we want to say it. If it were like the case in Egypt, then that's exactly what they would be doing. The Egyptian government shut down the government so that they couldn't communicate. This means that they are repressing the people from expressing themselves and in the United States that would be a violation of the First Amendment.
But I know that in Canada, the government there has started limiting their internet usage. When we pay for internet here we have unlimited use, but there they are starting to limit they amount of internet they use. They will have to start paying to see each internet site they want to look at beyond a certain point. I think this is utterly ridiculous and here is a quote from someone I was reading about in an article: “It's beyond censorship, it is killing the biggest ecosystem of free expression and freedom of speech that has ever existed,” I Power spokesperson Reese Leysen said.
And here is the article if you want to check it out. (I myself didn't read the whole thing, but here it is): http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/canada_net_censorship.html
I feel like there really is no way that a total shut down of internet and telecommunications would ever be successful in the United States. Americans are too dependent on technology and thus the only effect of blocking it would be an increase in protests. Blocking the internet affects everybody, not just those who are involved in protests. Given the size of companies such as Verizon and AT&T, bullying communications companies into shutting off service would probably not work.
The United States was created on the foundation of free speech among other things. If a president was forced to shut off telephone and internet communication, then there would have to be major issues in this country. Also, Egypt is a nation run by one powerful president and with a less-influential government under him. The US has a Congress with several hundred members who would all have to agree to the total shutdown. I feel like it would be decision which would threaten the future of this nation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12357694
I found the above article to be of particular interest. How much power does the government truly have over telecommunication companies? Vodafone is the largest telecommunications network in the world. It owns 45% of Verizon and can boast of more than 300 million subscribers. Why should such a huge multinational company based in London have to give into an unpopular foreign regime?
On the subject of the Patriot Act, I personally feel much safer knowing that communications are being watched. Why should we just sit there and allow terrorists to communicate via telephones, the internet, etc...? The Act makes it much more difficult for terrorists to communicate. The government does not really care that my mum wants me to pick up my brother from soccer practice, for example. This Act only interferes with the freedom of speech for those who chose to abuse that right and those who chose to impede the rights of others.
I think that a shut-down like Egypt has had would not be possible in the USA. There are too many people that would rebel too quickly. Such things that exercise "big government" control on that scale are taboo to most Americans, and will not be tolerated unless our "safety is in jeopardy" (like the Patriot Act).
The thing to remember it that nothing is permanent. Egypt has been able to lift the crackdown much like they are lifting Mubarack's rule.If the majority is angry about anything in the world, a revolution will eventually take place.
@ Mariana- I'm not entirely sure if you mean that Wikileaks itself is a scandal or what Wikileaks has brought to light are scandals, but I love that you brought it up. I think that Wikileaks is actually helping keep our liberties. While damaging and uncalled for, it reminds us that we are free, and I think that is important.
I agree with what Christian said in her post. Our country is said to have the most freedom but the government does still have a great amount of control. I don't think the government would ever cut off all means of communication because everyone would basically freak out. I do think that they could do it. I feel they would never actually go through with it though because of how dependent we are on technology in the United States.
I think that the U.S. government probably has the technological ability to shut off communications, but such an action would unlawful and ultimately ineffective. America, as a society, is very dependent on the internet and other forms of technological communications, but taking these things away from people would do more to start a rebellion rather than hinder or stop any protests. Also, I think a country-wide shut down of communications would hurt our government more than help it. Since Americans tend to frown on the infringement of their constitutional rights, a rebellion would be a given, but it would also hinder businesses and government agencies from functioning. I don't think the government would try anything as drastic as turning off communications, and if they did, people wouldn't stand for it.
I think that if the government really wanted to shut down internet and phone service, they could find a way to do it. However, I don't see why they would want to completely shut these services down. Like Mariana said, the government has access to a lot of information through citizens' telephone calls and internet activity.
Also, depending on how long they shut down service, many jobs would be affected, which would only hurt our economy more. The unemployment would then cause unrest among the public and disagreement with the government, which could lead to riots and violence, etc.
So all in all, I think the government has means to cut off phone and internet service, but I don't see how they would benefit in any way from taking that action.
I do not believe that the situation would play out in America as it has in Egypt. Here in America, the population is around 300 million vs. the around 82 million in Egypt. If the government attempted such a shut down of internet and cell phone service, I believe it would create such instability that these services must be turned back into a functioning mode. We all pay and value our money so much that the nation would not allow for such a thing to happen. There would be a crowd of much more than 1 million people in Washington DC. I believe riots would break out and complete chaos would occur.
As far as the Patriot Act, this is no where near what is happening in Egypt. The government does not have this kind of control. Our government could NEVER reach this kind of control. Think about the ratio of military to civilians. Its around 5 to 1000. And with the amount of arms the general populace is allowed to keep (in case of a government taking too many liberties), people would be able to wrestle a government that attempted such things. I must disagree with Mariana. Its just not plausible.
After reading this post, I tried to imagine how the government could possibly shut down communication services here in the United States and I could not envision any scenario in which that would be effective. I don't think a shutdown of communication services would be effective mainly because of the amount of protest against it would be immense. Americans rely so heavily on technology that almost every aspect of our lives would be affected.
I might be going out on a limb with this, but it can be assumed that anybody with even a severely limited knowledge of our government is aware that freedom of speech is protected by the Bill of Rights. This would be another obstacle that government would have to get around if they decided to shutdown communication services. An act,such as a communication shutdown, that so blatantly violates a Constitutional amendment would meet extremely heavy opposition.
This chaos that has ensued in Egypt is a clear example of just how much control a government can have over their people. The ability to severe the lines of communication amongst individuals of an organized political movement is a crucial blow to anything that the group may want to accomplish. In the United States, I believe that this ability to isolate us so harshly from those around us would be deeply devastating. Rather than successfully supressing a movement, chaos would ensue. Like i said last week, these forms of communication that were not available some 50 to 100 years ago have become such a natural part of our everyday life that without them we would not be able to function properly. I picture our desperation to reach a point of civilians against the military under such circumstances of devastation. However, in order to stay organized it would be prudent to find other methods of communication. Only if we were to keep calm would a revolution carry on in spite of a cut off of wireless communication.
In the United States we are also in the unique position that we are so vastly seperated by thousands of miles that although we may all desire the same cause, a lack of communication could criple a revolution. Without coordination people would either become desperate and foolish, or simply give up due to their distress rather than continue to fight for their rights due to the immense distances and lack of communication. When the government is so much more coordinated and able to direct their movements a rebellion in the United States would be foolish under a lack of communication.
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