Revolution

While we were reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, political history was being made in Egypt. The people of Egypt protested and ended up successfully overthrowing the President at the time, Hosni Mubarak. Through revolution, the people forced him to step down. This reminded me of the political turmoil that took place in Afghanistan in the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns.  The political system was unstable throughout the entire novel whether the Taliban or the Soviets were in power.  As much havoc as the events in Egypt were, it was really coincidental that the protests occurred while reading the novel.  There were several similarities that showed that the actions in A Thousand Splendid Suns were not isolated events.  One of the actions the government took in Egypt to prevent the protests was to cut the people off from everyone else.  They shut down cell phone and Internet connections in an effort to prevent riots.  The idea was to cut off the younger generation that was leading the protests.  This ties in with the Taliban isolating Afghanistan by removing the media (television, radio, etc.).  From our cushy seats in the safety of our farm country, such regime changes in Afghanistan, occurring before our lifetime and before our awareness of the news, seemed distant without connection to our lives because it was not something our generation had really witnessed.  However, here is an example of political instability that affects the US (oil prices increase) that we can understand and be aware of.
Also, by reading A Thousand Splendid Suns, I had a better grasp of the affect these political shifts had on everyday citizens life.  Mariam, Laila, and Tariq brought new life to the victims of turmoil.  Somewhere in Egypt, a story similar to any of theirs could be playing out right now.  It reminds me that there is more to conflict than those doing the fighting.  In every battle, there are accidental casualties that did not want to be a part in the violence.