The Chrysalis

What we are seeing in Egypt right now is absolutely unique. There is no leader yet groups of up to two million strong act as one; are of one voice. Individual visionaries have yet to emerge and this is seen as a weakness. I see it as their strength. Each one is motivated by a united heart, a united mind and a united intent. They are not united in varying degrees of allegiance to this or that ideology. They are united as Humanity. The lies and the illusions have begun to crack as if they had been the shell of some kind of chrysalis to keep us in check while we slumber... just as the caterpillar slumbers in its coccoon ...at least, I hope so... I can't begin to imagine what that kind of transition would feel like... although maybe we're about to find out.

I see something emerging here. I see a liberated Humanity. Liberated from the only bonds that hold one to brutal regimes that rule by fear: the fear itself. There is a vital rule in effective leadership that even gorilla troups have figured out. The Alpha Male might seem to throw his weight around but, by and large, he is necessary to keep the troupe together and protect them. So he has to be the biggest, toughest, meanest sunnuvabitch in the whole group. But no gorilla is stronger than the united group. When the Alpha Male becomes too aggressive or is an inadequate protector, he is ousted by the group. He needs their consent to retain the position. By what perverse and distorted process of evolving logic did this instinctive inclination to select an Alpha Male lead us to arrive at a choice like David Cameron?

The Rule is: The ruler must be bigger than each individual but cannot be bigger than the group.

The leaders coordinate the establishment of strategies to acheive the shared needs of the group. Their job is to focus intention into action and they gather the skills around them to best acheive that. In order to do this, he or she must have the authority to direct the individuals and, in an open society, this does not have to be done brutally and should only be done for the benefit of the commonly held Greater Good... not for profits or rake-offs. The Group as a whole, however, has a collective authority over the leader and must have the authority to direct or remove a leader. This would be a true democracy.

Unfortunately not even the blatantly corrupt systems we mockingly refer to as 'democracy' come anywhere near that. Well, OK. It's not really a problem and it won't be too far into some bizarre and pointless conflict (if it arises) before we realise that. We don't actually have to play the game. We have just witnessed a repressed people, brutalised by an inflexible tyrant stand up and exercise its authority. Egypt has shown what can be done and against the toughest and most brutal odds.

This is a lesson for the leaders of this contrived simulation of democracy in which we feel so comfortable. Romans had a system for maintaining a compliant society: Panem et circenses or Bread and circuses. Keep them fed and keep them distracted with mindless entertainment and no one will be moved to consult their conscience. Well, this slumber is just the shell of the chrysalis. Truth is reaching a global audience (OK... you have to sift through a lot of tosh to find it but you recognise it when you see it). Deception, the substance of illusion, has been rendered ineffectual. The internet is the fertile soil from which this new transparency is springing. Without deception, the illusion crumbles and, without the illusion... well... remember that final confrontation scene in The Wizard of Oz?

Lies create the illusion, illusion creates the fear and fear commands unquestioning loyalty. These are the vital elements to maintain a dictatorship. Lose either of these and the rest just falls apart. When the people abandon their fear, a dictatorship is not possible. Leaders must lead on merit, not force or influence. We are seeing something truly Great in Egypt.