Ludicrous Mind Ramblings

Humans always resist change; it’s an instinctive thing. But sometimes something happens that forces a natural change in the way we perceive and pursue our lives. It may be true love, a near-death experience, or just an awakening of one’s trapped soul through a poignant or traumatic experience. It may sound rather obnoxious, but the latter works well for the betterment of many lives. Are you happy? Are you living the life you’ve always dreamed of? If you were to die today, would you be contented with the life you’ve led? Most people would answer no to all of the above questions, not because they lead an incongruous or miserable life, but simply because we’ve been taught to aspire to more than what would satisfy our basic needs, with happiness promised to come along the way.  As kids we were taught of humility, kindness, acceptance and appreciation. As we grew older, we learnt of the importance of dreams and higher aspirations, and that being happy translated into being better...

The first ever use of social media to induce a political movement in Egypt was the call made in 2008 for a public strike on the 6th of April. The Facebook-instigated strike was to protest against the rise in the cost of bread, amongst other basic commodities. The Facebook group of April 6 Youth Movement attracted around 70,000 members from across the nation and calls were supported through Twitter, SMS’s, blogs and word-of-mouth. Police forces managed to disperse protestors in a matter of hours, and the episode failed to achieve any results other than the detaining of its organisers and central supporters. In the years to follow, Egyptians resorted to the freedom that digital media provided to compensate for the civil freedoms they lacked under the totalitarian regime that subjugated every liberty to be had. The Egyptian state had diminished freedoms and civil rights by means of censorship, oppression and the unprecedented use of brutal force under the unending Emergency ...