Another Tack: Irresistible teachings from la-la land

Sarah Honig
Another Tack
24 February '11

Bothersome and bewildering as our existence often is, there is always a steady anchor of shallow wisdom to which we can cling for comfort and reassurance. During the confounding Egyptian commotion, it was soothing to behold the light and truth emblazoned so superficially across cyberspace by the astute likes of Lindsay Lohan.

And so twittered the starlet, inter alia embroiled in a whole slew of new legal entanglements: “Congratulations to the people of Egypt. Your voices were heard and you proved that peaceful demonstrations are possible and effective… I pray Egypt maintains it’s [sic] treaty with Israel and sets the trend for its neighbors to create peace with Israel and the entire region.”

Totally! Doesn’t that just prove that there’s more to airhead icons than meets the eye? Duh! No way all those Muslim Brothers who proliferate in the land of long-bygone pharaohs can fail to follow the irresistible teachings from la-la land.

But why pick on ditsy Lindsay? It’s not like her incisive slogans were any less incisive than those regurgitated ad nauseam by statesmen/women, self-professed experts and frivolous talking heads who couldn’t keep their mouths shut during the evolving Tahrir Square mayhem. Like Lindsay, not all of them quite knew where on the planet Egypt is, a negligible fact which prevented hardly anyone-who’s-anyone from expressing an opinion.

Even those who know Egypt’s geographical location perfectly well – like our own in-house Mideast crackerjacks – didn’t get it too right. Few now care to focus on their own fiascos, but as Cairo lost its composure right after the Tunisian turmoil, we were persuaded by clairvoyant pundits aplenty that “Egypt isn’t Tunisia” and that “Mubarak won’t fall like Ben Ali.”

BUT ARE they downhearted? Not in the least, despite having failed miserably to read the situation even as it unfolded before their very eyes. With their indomitable ardor not dampened, they admirably overlook their copious imperfections and spring right back to dispense more knowing predictions.

(Read full "Irresistible teachings from la-la land")

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