A fly
makes a landing zone of President Obama's forehead.
Barack Obama
and the Fly (Libya Al Jadidah, Libya)
"A fly landed on the forehead of the president - and he isn't just any old president. ... The fly broke through the president's fortified security cordon, swept across his forehead and toyed with his hand. Playing on the nerves of a president who holds in his hands the keys to America's nuclear arsenal and rules over the affairs of three quarters of the planet, it was seen by millions. ... Without uttering a word, that fly told us a lot: Force is a ghoul that no longer frightens even a fly!!"
Mary Jo White, a former federal prosecutor who President Obama has chosen to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, is now better-known for a fly that landed on the president's forehead during the announcement of her appointment than anything she did to deserve the post.
On January 24, 2013, the leader of the world's most powerful
nation was on TV to announce the nomination of Mary Jo White to head the Securities
and Exchange Commission. The scene was routine and sober, but showed that what applies to
humans doesn't necessarily apply to flies.
A fly landed on the forehead of the president - and he isn't
just any old president.
The fly broke through the president's fortified security cordon,
swept across his forehead and toyed with his hand. Playing
on the nerves of a president who holds in his hands the keys to America's nuclear
arsenal and rules over the affairs of three quarters of the planet, it was seen by millions.
Without uttering a word, that fly told us a lot: Force is a ghoul
that no longer even frightens a fly!!
The language of force is no longer appropriate, because the
barrier of fear has been broken. The world is now on the threshold of a new era.
So as not to be overwhelmed by the massacres of old, people must once again learn
the alphabet of dialogue.
That fly taught us a lot. Fate may not have been merciful to
Arabs, when it chose us to offer a central lesson to the entire world, especially
the countries of the Arab Spring. From the beginning we have suffered for
failing to learn how to engage in disputes without fighting, refuse without burning
our bridges, and shout without blowing up everything
around us.
It is a hard lesson, and we are the model that the world is watching.
The rest of the world knows that its time is coming - that it will be next. The
millions of civilized people in the Western world know that if the day comes
that they clash with the authorities, it will be us on their minds. It will be our
revolutions that will be the fuel that makes certain no one remains silent.
Of course, there will be major differences. Arabs have a
long legacy of oppression that the millions in Europe have never experienced. But
the lesson for all will remain: force is no longer the answer. And a mere fly has
learned a lesson: what applies to humans does not necessarily apply to flies!!
