The reality in Egypt affirms that no side to the crisis has a clear plan for the future. Thus, the outlines of this future have yet to materialize; it is true that there is a political road map, announced by Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, that everyone except the Islamists have endorsed. However, conditions on the ground indicate that the various parties are playing a political game, one of "whatever you gain, play with," or "trial and error," or "winning will bring other gains, and losing will lead to new losses." For now, no side appears to have a vision of what is coming if the interim president, along with the army and civic forces, relying on the popular momentum that emerged on 30 June and 3 and 26 July, move ahead with the road map, amend the Constitution, and hold parliamentary elections, followed by presidential elections. No one can guarantee these stages in the first place, or whether they will be adhered to. If they do take place, what about the reactions of those who are excluded, or who boycott, and their impact on the country? In the same way, the confusion in dealing with the sit-in Al-Rabia Al-Adawiya and the marches in various places do not presage the success of moving ahead with the road map to the end. In general, the majority of influential political groups in Egypt have not exploited the gains of the Revolution, except for things that are bad, if not worse. I believe that those following politics, and the media, which has been following politics and become an influential part of the political scene since the beginning of the uprising, have been subjected to – unlike in the past – a huge amount of vile words and swearing, claims, lies, incitement, chaos, duplicity, exploitation, "riding the wave" of the latest fad, changed stances, and damaged values ever since the fall of the Hosni Mubarak regime. Politics in Egypt is undertaken to seize power in the interest of the group, party, team, front or leader, and to exclude competitors and deny their existence to begin with. In order to achieve this "noble" goal, all manner of intimidation and violations of norms and traditions have taken place, along with the exploitation of religion and slogans. Even history has been falsified to the benefit of this or that party, to achieve this or that goal. Naturally, this situation is not limited to some ideological Egyptians or even those with political or religious claims; it spreads to their allies abroad, or to anyone who has certain interests. They mobilize, recruit, fund and give support all around, in material and non-material forms, politically and in the media. It is one side against the other, the regime against the people, and the Brotherhood against the Army. They say that such a state of affairs befalls countries after popular uprisings, and that societies witnessing social, political and economic change usually experience chaos when it comes to private morals and public security, political struggles, the emergence of base behavior, and the disappearance of fairness, transparency, loyalty and honesty. They say that dictatorship and frustration generate, after they disappear, problems that are solved or overcome after a period of time. However, the reality in Egypt indicates that the result of the Revolution up to now has been negative for the majority of Egyptians, compared to those who have benefited, with no current or group as an exception. These beneficiaries have jumped to the forefront of events, moving this along, and ruling over the security of the street and the nation. They have the ability to stir up or clamp down on people's awareness, mock them, and play with their minds. Those who breathe lies and are professionals at duplicity rise to the top; underneath them lie the corpses of the martyrs, the bodies of the wounded, the pains of the poor, and the suffering of the people. They believed, when they responded to the call of Revolution, that they would achieve a dignified and humane life for their children and grandchildren; they did not believe that freedom would ever mean incitement to kill, selling the country to whoever pays the most, or changing stances based on returns and benefits! To sum up the picture in Egypt today: The Islamists are ready to fight for the "Islamic project," of which nothing was achieved during over a year of the presence in power. In their ranks is the Brotherhood, which made many mistakes without admitting any of them. Its leaders and leading figures are just as stubborn today, and they are using all methods to challenge the failure that they committed, and continue to commit. The civil groups are comical, always waiting for benefits without making any effort or engaging in struggle, or even putting forward visions for the future, or taking part in solving society's problems or the crisis that the country is suffering from today. The amazing thing is that they themselves exploit the crisis and try to make gains. There is a weak and confused government that has all ages, colors, orientations and objectives represented, but its performance is weak and hesitant. There is an army that has been trying to preserve the state, ever since the uprising began. Its leaders made the mistake of the transitional period, even if they had good intentions, but their mistakes are resulting in disasters. After the rule by the Brotherhood, the Army tried to correct its mistakes and prevent them; it found the mistakes of others surrounding it or exploiting or confusing it, as it faced the threat of terror in the Sinai and the conspiracies of foreign parties trying to stir things up. And the political corruption of the various rivals for power always stirs things up even more.
