Our Country Is Seriously Broken

During the summer of 2013, my wife and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary with an incredible 10-day trip to Morocco. We traveled from Casablanca to Rabat and Fes, traversed the Atlas Mountains to Et Taous in the Sahara and then made our way to Marrakesh.

After 10 days in a car with our guide, Hassan, we became friendly enough to talk about politics. He told us how King Mohammed VI remained safely in power — and in possession of his 52 palaces — after the Arab Spring uprisings by closing the mosques at all times except during the five daily calls to prayer. He did it to prevent people from organizing against him.