The drive, the evolution, the creativity, the progress is all at a standstill. A stagnant existence cripples us like a drug addiction.
It seems the Arab masses have rested too long. We have developed an aura of arrogance based on our previous historical accomplishments. We have contributed nothing of value in the past century other than sitting on oil. All we have become is the purveyors of perpetual pop.
Sure we can say things like we invented the numbering system, algebra, the two-stroke engine and the torpedo 800 years ago, the ice cream cone or whatever, but what has been our contribution lately is a knack for mimicking. The strive is long dead and we didn’t even mourn since we are in denial. To be like others and to blend seems to be only saving us from temporary destruction. We quickly give up the things that make us who we are.
This is not meant as an attack on our society (and by no means is this an academic work) rather, a venting in hopes of sparking some revival within myself and others.
There are several issues I have on our perception, our reputation and our future.
The perception is that we are special. Others' perception of us is disturbingly negative.
Why such a chasm? Is there something we don't see or is this a product of years of propaganda purposing a divergence of truth staging our demise? It appears to be a combination of both.
We see our selves above all with no fault, resting on the weight of past glory. And we are victim to centuries of unjust attacks. Our reputation is a violent and decadent one, certainly unjustified to the extent propagated, yet clearly we have lost our way. This is not to say that we all are guilty but when there is this grim cloud covering our movement we all suffer, therefore we all need to act to reignite our evolution into a perpetual positive progression. The future is not bright by any means, in fact the reality is that we are headed into our darkest hour since the time before Prophet Mohammad. And there may not be a recovery. There is a correlation between the rise of Islam and the dawn of a great Arab civilization, one which rescued vital ideas of justice and philosophy. Now it is believed that most of Europe's advancements were merely inventions copied from the Arab world centuries earlier. I mentioned the torpedo, but weapons of destruction aside, there was the creation of the library, university and hospital. And the advancements in irrigation and the time piece and so on.
Where is that knowledge now? I'm assuming it all went into the abyss to replace the oil that was drawn out. the majority of Arabs do not have oil but this has cursed us all, since the powerful have taken us down with them. There is no shining light leader to bring us back up. and we wallow in a mucky swamp of pop culture imitation trying to fit into a new society. We graze the diseased fields like sheep. And like sheep we find ourselves behind fences and walls. To what end, a violent catastrophic one?
When do we take control of our own lives, lead ourselves, create our own track, represent ourselves, draw our own boarders, embrace our own culture, protect our brothers and sister and not kill them to serve others?
I'm not sure I even had any coherency or direction in this, but I am tired and frustrated and unwilling to go on in this present state.
3 comments:
We have no choice but to go on, because no amount of despotism lasts for ever. every darkness is followed by a dawn. and that is not to say that our collective slumber is directly caused by despotic rulers; the people's own lazyness, apathy and hollow arrogance will be cast aside for something better with time. one has to be patient and keep moving.
When do we take control of our own lives, lead ourselves, create our own track, represent ourselves, draw our own boarders, embrace our own culture, protect our brothers and sister and not kill them to serve others?
I just read Samir Kassir's Being Arab and he says pretty much the same thing, but has the opposite prescription of ibj's. "We have no choice but to go on":
"...we can stil force destiny's hand by starting with what is most urgent, what is indespensable for recovery: that we Arabs abandon our fantasy of a matchless past and finally see our real history, so that we can then be true to it."
solo...what I'd like to do is erase people's memory of what has been propagated for centuries and place everyone on borderless non-governed land, then start the whole process all over again and see if the results would differ.
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