One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

The book’s title, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, suggests a future revisionist perspective. Analyze how El Akkad uses time—past, present, and future—as a framework for understanding moral responsibility and collective memory.

El Akkad describes the current moment as “the truly weightless time, after the front page loses interest, but before the history books arrive” (182). Discuss how the concept of liminality functions throughout the book, both politically and narratively.

Analyze how El Akkad connects environmental catastrophe to social injustice in the book. How does he frame climate change as an extension of existing power structures rather than as a separate issue?

Examine how El Akkad explores the concept of double standards in international relations, media coverage, and public response to violence. How does he challenge readers to recognize their own participation in these uneven moral frameworks?

Despite the book’s dark subject matter, El Akkad maintains that “courage is the more potent contagion” (186). Examine how he balances critique with hope throughout the text. Is his conclusion ultimately optimistic, pessimistic, or something else entirely?

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This blends memoir, political analysis, and narrative elements. Analyze how this hybrid form serves El Akkad’s subject matter. What can this approach communicate that traditional forms might not?

El Akkad concludes by calling for dismantling existing systems rather than reforming them. Identify what specific alternatives the author proposes throughout the book. How does he envision transformation occurring, and what obstacles does he identify?

Examine El Akkad’s position as a writer documenting both personal experience and global events. How does he establish authority while acknowledging the limitations of his perspective?