"The Future of the New Middle East"

I attended this afternoon's January Series lecture by Reza Aslan. Reza is an expert on world religions and an expert on the Middle East. Being a native Iranian who fled to the United States, he is especially interested in the current situation in the Middle East, and his talk highlighted the top myths about the "Arab Spring."
The fallen nature of the Middle East links very closely with the material we've learned in class, especially when talking about empire. Like in the time of the Romans, empire for the Arabs throughout the Middle East is a very real concept. It's a daily, oppressive part of their lives. The totalitarian dictators that existed until being dethroned in many countries, and still exist in some, made empire a real concept for them.
The story of the Arab spring also shows amazing redemptive power. In countries like Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, the people rose up and overthrew the government. Dictators like Gaddafi and Mubarak eventually had to step down. This story shows the power of the people, and the power of voice. In our culture it shows us what we've taken for granted for a long time. Relating to the disquiet we often experience in our consumer society, we often feel like we have no power to affect the world at all. The Arab Spring showed how we really do have a voice if we put it into action. The flame that was lit  in the Middle East displays a real desire fire and desire for change among its people. They want to reform and change their way of life for the better. We need to take their example and stop being complacent, and light up a fire of our own. This is especially true of Christians. If we were to take and live out the narrative that Jesus provides us, we could really change the world!
Others aspects that mirrored material from the class have to do with the way social media such as Twitter and Facebook had a huge impact on the revolutions, and made them possible. Overall, the lecture was very interesting and I feel like I learned a lot.