The meaning of words no longer had the same relation to things, but was changed by them as they thought fit. Reckless doing was held to be loyal courage; prudent delay was the excuse of a coward; moderation was the disguise of weakness; to know everything was to do nothing. Thucydides on the corruption of language during the revolution at Corfu in Alasdair MacIntyre, A Short History of Ethics     The question comes to mind more or less every time I click on a clip from Syria. And every time I read an interpretation that tries to fix a single total meaning, another clip... more

The revolutionary movement of Syria not only asked for a political change when it took the streets in 2011, but also to reaffirm the existence of individuality in society. Our personal individuality was brutally oppressed by the dictatorial one-party rule and the purely state-controlled organizations and trade unions, which attempted to make people ideologically uniform from the youngest age through the youth-based Baathist organizations. With the recapturing of our personal identity, we Syrians regained a public space to express our thoughts and ideas through creativity and arts. But at the same time, we are confronted with new questions. Have we... more