A Forgotten Revolution"The Syrian revolution was never deader than on the night of February 4, and maybe it was this non-event that made the Syrian regime feel invincible.
And then the countryside, along with Syria’s regional cities, erupted in one of the most courageous displays of humanity seen anywhere in the world for decades.
It’s easy to forget today, in the midst of news coverage about Geneva II and the growing power of foreign jihadists, that countless thousands of peaceful demonstrators swarmed Homs’ New Clock Square or that tens of thousands more marched through the streets of Deir Ezzor night after night during 2011, calling for the end of the Syrian government, for someone else to represent and serve them.
Experiencing it first hand, Syria’s once-peaceful revolution was a beautiful thing, an exercise in utter courage, an education in the possibilities of the human spirit and a reminder of horror. Chronicling young Syrians bearing their chests, fully expecting death at any moment and displaying a level of bravery one is lucky enough to witness once in a lifetime, will live with me forever.
Today, we do these young men and women—many of whom are now dead—a disservice, writing them out of history in favor of focusing on the subtleties of John Kerry’s latest comments."