Crossroads.

Hey there, good to see new faces today. Huddle up people huddle up. Unclog your ears, take off your sunglasses and open your eyes. Breathe. Huddle up, get your heads down, I've got some news for you.

Forget Ben Ali, forget Mubarak, forget Gadaffi, forget Saleh and forget Alassad. If you're an Arab like me, you're probably fired up right now. That's good, keep that flame burning, but let me adjust the wind. Forget everything, forget the demonstrations and forget the progress, forget the injustice and forget the killings and hypocrisy, forget everything, everything except this moment.

Go sit by yourself in a place far away from all the noise, the cheers and the banners. I want you to close your eyes and take a long, real deep look inside. What do you see?
I want you to close your eyes and listen. What do you hear? Do you hear that politician on TV telling you that you've got it all wrong? That the Arab Spring is nothing but a master plan to bring the Arab world down and to take over its oil and resources? Do you hear that Anarchist yelling his lungs out on the street, calling to bring down every kind of authority in the Arab world? Do you hear him swearing at everyone who disagrees with his opinions?
Open your eyes. Do you really want to be like these people?

Forget the Arab Spring, forget the flame of the revolution, just for one second. Despite what you might think, we're actually at a crossroads right here. Sure, we brought down tyrants and fighting others at the moment, but don't forget that by doing so we compromised our stability as a region. Sure, they were tyrants, dictators, killers, but they brought stability. And so now, after taking them out with their comrades on the way soon, we find ourselves at a crossroads. The way I see it, brother and sister, is that we got two options.

One, we take the path that is built on insecurity, that is blinded by the achievements of revolutions, a path that will ultimately lead to the destruction of the region, to the theft of our resources and to anarchy sweeping over the region, killing thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands. A path that is built on non trusting each other and not listening to the other opinion. A path that blames everything on fallen dictators, a path without a moment of self criticism.
Two, we take the path that will, ultimately,  lead to the prosperity of the region. A path that is built on trust and love for our culture and nations, built on compassion and listening to different opinions, built on constructive criticism, democracy and fast-acting justice. A path at which we proudly remember our Arab Spring, yet look forward to the future in determination. A path that requires us to take a look at ourselves, a good hard look.

So, come on, peel back all your defense mechanisms and take a look at your heart. What do you see? What do you feel? Do you feel the walls that those tyrants built around you, to stop you from driving yourself forward? Do you feel that inner strength, that giant waiting to be unleashed? It's there, you just have to push past your walls, past your defense mechanisms in place and tear down your walls. Because, honestly now, what makes us so great? What gives us the right to stand up and say "We've done something no one has ever done before?" What makes us think we're so great? Our history? Civilizations rise and fall. Our Arab Spring? Different name to a recurring political phenomenon over the course of a thousand years. Because, look at the difficulties ahead, look at our competition, look at the fake politicians and look at the thieves and look at the new tyrants waiting for their chance. They're all here, they're all fighting for it, what makes you better than them? What makes you, and me, and her, and him, more qualified than them to take control of our region's destiny? So, what will you do, every single day, to earn the right to stand up and say, "I'm an Arab".

It might seem far away now, it might seem difficult, you might think its impossible to achieve, but believe me, you've got it in you, we all do. Look at me, look at me dead in the eye and promise me to become the best there is. Only then, I got your back. I will lead you forward, he will lead you forward, she will support you, he will lift you up and help you to get back on your feet. It is not fair to ask others to do what you are unwilling to do yourself, so start with your own heart. Only when your heart beats with mine, with hers, with his, only then can we make the right decision on which path to follow.

Today, we face a choice, a crossroads. To either lift ourselves up, or pin ourselves down. Take a good hard look in your heart, admit your mistakes, admit your insecurities and admit your failures. Make a promise, a promise to be a part of something that is bigger than all of us. A promise to improve yourself, to feel the responsibility that you've got, that we've all got. We can't afford to betray our nations, our culture and our region. We can't afford to betray those who died to get us to where we are now.

So, what will you do?