question of the weekend: Are we entering a new era of grassroots, on-the-ground political activism, or is the fallout from the Egyptian protests only a temporary blip?

Egyptian protestors demanded -- and got -- the resignation of their despotic leader, Hosni Mubarak. Apparently embolded by the success of ordinary Egyptians, citizens of Bahrain, Libya, and Yemen are taking to the streets in their own attempts to democratize their nations. Hell, even in the land of the free, home of the uninvolved, people are getting off their duffs to fight for the little guy: protestors in Wisconsin have been holding noisy but peaceful public demonstrations against state austerity measures.

There’s no doubt that there is something inspiring about what happened in Egypt, and hugely relieving that it did not descend into all-out violent revolution. But how long can the inspiration last?

Are we entering a new era of grassroots, on-the-ground political activism, or is the fallout from the Egyptian protests only a temporary blip?

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