A Post From the Heart of a Revolution

While enjoying my first "political unrest" day off, I feel remiss in not commenting on the state of affairs here in Venezuela on my blog. I'm torn between my initial desire to stay neutral and the growing interest that the rest of the world is taking in the recent goings-on here. Truly, it's hard to tease apart the shadow from the truth, the hype from the reality and the true change from the hot air. I joined twitter today just to see what was going on from that social media angle and BOY has that been a voyage into manicness. I don't have to be in the marches in order to get a running stream of consciousness information overload from both sides. If you are interested in following these events as the unfold on the twittersphere, check these out:

La patilla (Oposición)

Runrunes.es (Oposición

El Universal (Oposición)

El Nacional (Oposición)

Globovisión (?)

Ciudad Caracas (Chavista)

Correo del Orinoco (Chavista)

La iguana tv (Chavista)

Venezolana de Televisión (Chavista)

Últimas Noticias (Sometimes Chavista - Sometimes Oposición)

So, there have been a couple of interesting articles/videos on what is actually happening here. Below are a few for your review*

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/18/world/americas/venezuela-protests/index.html?hpt=ila_c1

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/13/world/americas/venezuela-protests/?utm_source=Daily+Skimm&utm_campaign=92064203e2-daily_skimm&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_74efee6205-92064203e2-23916841

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFS6cP9auDc

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201402172246-0023478

*I cannot speak to the political leanings of these stories, though you can best assume they are opposition friendly. 

Let me stop my pontificating here for a reminder: I have a background in comparative governments and psychology. What is unfolding here could be my ultimate PHD thesis. It's that interesting and that complicated. Even though this is all happening around me, I likely won't understand the gravity of what is unfolding until much later and after much research. It's hard to tease apart what is happening because what is happening has roots that go so, so deep. I've already done quite a bit of reading, so the gravity and direction of what is happening is not lost on me. The two questions I find myself mulling on though are these: will this human flood currently taking over the streets make a difference- have they found the tipping point for change? And what is the answer to the oft repeated concerns being voiced- how do we correct the violence, the shortages, the inflation?

The flood of people- all of them regardless of political affiliation- they have a right ask these questions. They all have a right to march. But will answers come from flooding the streets? If this is indeed the tipping point, will they have the answers to fix things after everything tips over?

While I don't know if this is indeed the tipping point (though I have heard the word coup thrown around more than I am comfortable with), I will go out on a limb and say that we are not close to finding the answers. Both sides have a lot to scream about- they certainly want answers, but I haven't seen any impetus to find the answers. No strategies have been presented, no call for calm objectivity or bipartisan collaboration to solve these pressing problems. No debates, no committees, no transparency. 

Venom. Finger pointing. Desolation and Hopelessness. Pride and shame. Una mezcla de emociones fuertes. 

Meanwhile, I sit comfortably in my apartment. All my needs are met and I'm nestled comfortably on my hill overlooking the city that, from my balcony, looks the same as it always does. Far from the heart of the conflict, I enjoy my day off. It's a strange juxtaposition between my comfortable, idyllic day and the revolution that is unfolding in the valley below. Una mezcla de emociones para mi tambien.