We need to draw our own mountain and write our own narrative. And I don’t mean democracy—which is just a blueprint on how to build the mountain. I mean a vision of what we will find when we climb the mountain—a reason to hope, a cause to be optimistic. Until we do so, some of our compatriots, and even our neighbors, will continue to climb the PFDJ’s mountain of heap.

Is Isaias an eccentric or a loon? To answer that question, let’s assume for a minute that he doesn’t have the title of president, didn’t have bodyguards and didn’t have the authority of the state behind him.  Asked about human rights in Eritrea, he responded about slums in South Africa.  Asked about a jailed Eritrean, he commented about the immigration policy of Sweden. At what point do you cross the eccentric-loon Rubicon when it comes to this man?

The nation cannot wait for the inevitable clash of the trains and uncivil wars.  We have to find a way to overcome our fears and make opposition and dissent complementary and not destructive to nation-building.  If you are familiar with what sociologists call "social norming" you will understand my proposal, which would be based on what I'll call "opposition norming."