The recent events in Egypt will be something I remember for the rest of my life. I will tell my children and then tell their children about the revolution that I witnessed in my lifetime. Egyptians are fighting for their freedom and are earning the respect of the world because of the modern age.

This is the world’s first viral revolution. Everyone is tapped in to what’s happening in the streets of Cairo and numerous other cities. Just recently the powers of Egypt took out the Internet as a means of damage control.

Will they be able to throw a blanket over this mess and come out on top, secretly lying about the democratic nature of negotiations with the citizens, while fully intending to inflict extreme dangers onto the protesters while the world is blacked out from it?

This current ripple in major world politics got me thinking: could this happen in America? Should it? Maybe it should happen here– I say it should. We have to stop electing leaders who see the world as a threat and not as possible allies and friends.

We have to stop being a consumption-based generation. We have to stop xenophobia, racism, sexism, homophobia and religious bigotry. We have to define our generation. We don’t have to have a bloody revolution like the first one that occurred in this country and those that followed. We have to be the generation who looks up at the powers that be and say, “We control our lives. We will be who we desire to be. We will define our world. We will define our time, and we will make a positive impression on the world.”

That is what we have to say. Maybe we will even believe it.