I just came back from a holiday in Europe. I realised that well-organised people contribute to a great nation. I saw Arab tourists consistently leave their litter behind while their European counterparts clean up when they leave the squares. Arabs leave it to somebody else to clean up their mess. I now firmly believe that the arrogance coupled with selfishness is the reason why none of the Arab nations of modern time has contributed positively to the world or for that matter to their own countries.
If I make a mountain out of a molehill from the trash Arabs leave behind while they are on holiday, then I can justify it at home. They make mistakes repeatedly and hope the international community will tolerate them or bail them out when they face problems.
In doing so, they left themselves open to exploitations and fall into the same hole that they should have overstepped if only they organised themselves properly.
Seven centuries ago, Arabs set the pace in medicine, mathematics, engineering and astronomy. They knew where they were going because they followed an unwavering discipline that had no rival.
Today, Arabs are badly detached from the greatness of their ancestors, like a retinal detachment, blind from any ambition. It all boils down to poor governance, which is a product of sloppiness of individuals and lack of hindsight.
The mentality that ‘tomorrow will be a better day by the grace of God’ simply means ‘we cannot be bothered to establish a working plan’ that will smooth out problems that we are likely to face.
I was also watching Arabs show disrespect to the cultures and heritage of their hosts in Europe when they lose their cool when things go wrong. Or the words they used when something do not go their way. When you travel to a foreign country, you become a representative of your culture. You are an ambassador of your country and to be in the best behaviour is part of diplomacy.
It is evident that Arabs do not mingle easily with the crowd and that is where they go wrong in international relations. They think the world would stop in its tracks and wait patiently while they make up their minds.
They easily blame other people for the mistakes they commit instead of owning them or learning from them. How one behaves in another country is not different how one behaves in their own country. You take your bad habits with you. People make up nations but nations never make up people.
It is all about the mental finesse and how you use it to manage your life. Mental management is one thing Arabs pay no attention to. Obviously better management of the mind translates into better actions.
Problems and solutions have a humble beginning. Something you are taught at home and improved in a school. There is no prescription if you get it wrong in the early stages. It usually spills out in later years in the way people govern themselves.
When it comes to self-centredness, perhaps Arabs have championed it. It is all about how much can be accomplished in a short time for short-term goals for the benefit of few.
They do not finish what they start, the way they do not finish the meals they order in European countries they visit, because the plan is too grand and not properly thought of. To them, bigger is better even though there is no justification. They see them coming when they travel the way they see them make colossal mistakes when they govern themselves.
saleh al shaibany
saleh_shaibany@yahoo.com
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