Letter to General al-Sisi

Dear General al-Sisi,

I am glad that I have the chance to talk to you before you become the next president of Egypt. Being the president of a place so vast will take a lot of hard work and dedication but I believe that you have the power and strength to fill the role efficiently and successfully. To become successful, I believe that four things should be in mind: involve the people of Egypt, as well as represent them, help build up the economy to its rightful spot, and try to be selfless in many of your actions as president.

In the work that you are faced with in the upcoming future, I think it is vital that the economy should be built to its full potential. The economy is a huge part of Egypt and it should be well thought out and planned. According to the revolution packet students are studying, the economy is not doing too well as of lately, “Youth unemployment is rampant, everything is in decay, tourism and foreign investment and reserves are down sharply” (14). I will let you become the decision maker on how to address the problems mentioned. Many parts of the world are cognizant of the problems that you are all facing in Egypt so hopefully you can work to resolve them and give Egypt a bit of a better image. Moreover, I believe that to build a strong country, the government should lean more towards a democracy. Letting the people have a say will earn you so much more respect from the people of Egypt. The people of Egypt want a democracy and a democracy is what will make Egypt successful in the future. “Egypt’s future will be found in neither a caliph nor a pharaoh” (2).  They will tend to listen more and have a more positive outlook because they feel more represented. In addition, getting the people involved is also a key role. In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Mark Antony makes a speech that involves the people, bringing many, if not all of them on his side, gaining him more power.

In contrast, I believe that there are things that you must NOT do. First is making promises that you cannot keep. If this action comes up, all of the trust the people had in you would be mostly down in the dumps and they will feel betrayed. This will lead to little communication and all around uneasiness in Egypt’s future. Also, it is best that you not be overly selfish. It is perfectly fine to think about yourself in certain situations but not everything is based off of your opinion if you want the people to be happy. In Julius Caesar, Caesar was an overly-confident dictator. He said things such as “I am as constant as the Northern Star” (3.1.66), and you know where quotes like that ultimately got to? Murder.

In summary, I believe that the people be given a voice in the government and that all of this power over the people should not be going to your head. And I know you’re probably thinking, “Why should I listen to this guy, he’s only Secretary of State?”. I believe that this advice will work well for you in the long run of your spot as figurehead of Egypt. There has been much talk of Egypt and its possible flaws and I believe that what I have told you will be able to mend them. I hope you succeed in all that you do in your time leading Egypt. I wish you the best of luck!

Sincerely,

John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State

Mark Antony Propaganda

     My Propaganda poster is for Mark Antony being ruler. The text in red is a quote from the people about Mark Antony and it shows the Plebeians' trustworthiness towards him. The quote on the poster sends out a positive tone about Antony. It underscores how important he is to the people because it is showing that the people will do so much as to die for him. The fact that the picture and the text is light in color, even though it is mainly black and white, gives off an optimistic and comfortable feeling in the propaganda poster itself. The positive feelings people could get from the poster could help support Mark Antony in his future as ruler in some form.

     The quote “We’ll hear him, we’ll follow him, we’ll die with him” (3.2.220-221) is said by a Plebeian during Antony’s speech after Julius Caesar was murdered.  Antony was showing the people of Rome Caesar’s body and explained how the stab wounds were created by the conspirators. Antony's plan was to get the Plebeians onto his side. To accomplish this feat he had to convince the people that the conspirators, especially Brutus, are the exact opposite of honorable. To get the Plebeians onto his side, he must manipulate the people to be on his side by showing valuable pieces of evidence, even if he has to lie a bit. To persuade the people, he brought out the body of Caesar, a giant piece of evidence to support his overall point in his speech. The Plebeians are very easy to persuade so they were on Antony's side in a heartbeat; hence the quote "We'll hear him, we'll follow him, we'll die with him" (3.2.220-221).