Pen in the Arabic literature was likened to the sun, the moon, a sword, a horse, a sea and an honorable man. There is also an idiom says: “the nation that appreciates the pen, is sure to develop then”.
I hope we are going to have a president who is like a pen, or rather a pencil. We don’t need a copying pencil president whose job would be writing whatever his party or group tells him what to write. Furthermore, we don’t need a president like a ball-point pen; who is too strict and narrow-minded with many defects and he never accepts change.
We need a president who is like a pencil. All of us know pencil’s value and is suitable for everyone: well educated people or illiterates, old or young, man or woman. In Egypt it’s used by judges in courts. Yes, we want a pencil president…
Pencils depend on the graphite within it. It doesn’t matter what kind of wood it’s made of, or what color or form. It’s all about the graphite. We need a president who has a pure Egyptian heart and believe in individual freedom as well as citizenship. We want a patriot president who belongs to Egypt. We don’t care about his religion, political party or how does he look. We rather care that he feels for us; men and women, Christians and Muslims, Nubian or Bedouin.
To have a clear handwriting, pencil should sacrifices its outer wooden cover, and so we need our president to sacrifices himself; he should get rid of his selfishness and pride, he should endure pain, hardships and criticism. We need him to care for his people more than himself and his party.
On the other hand, pencil has an eraser at its tip to erase its mistake, and we need a president who has no problem to say sorry upon making a mistake, who will try to correct his mistakes and listen to his people.
Finally, the pencil needs a reasonable person to handle it. Many people think they can handle a pencil pretty good, but they are mistaken. I hope our next president wouldn’t be similar to a lipstick that gives women beauty that disappears in few hours.
Therefore, we should choose a president who loves his country and puts aside his interests along with his group or party, a president who is full of meekness and love and will work hard for Egypt.
