Waiting for Foreign Solutions

[Tamer AlMasri]

Obama promised change and the world got its hopes up. The world is so desperate that they thought one man can resolve the woes of billions. Not only that, we got pissed off at him for not living up to his promise of changing OUR lives. Even in the Arab world (who are not eligible to even vote in the US) we are holding him accountable for not being able to deliver his promise for peace in OUR region.

Let’s look at Obama’s givens (aside from the short term inherited screw ups): he is one man who was elected to preside over a bigshot country of over 300,000,000 people. These 300 million + people lead very complex lives and have infinite dealings with each other and the other 6,000,o00,000 people in this world. It is undeniable , despite figures of the dwindling influence of the US hegemony, that from these 300 million + Americans, a very significant number are global movers – whether it be corporations, the military, or organizations – independent global players who, through the weight of their own enterprises and communication channels, shape the lives of billions. Naturally, all these players have self-protecting interests. These interests interact, intertwine and conflict constantly; shifting weights on every political, social and economical scale. These interests are powered by overwhelming and highly sophisticated engines that continuously work on influencing policy and public life to further their self centered agendas.

These American global players are not alone in their league: 200+ countries have their own ‘Global Drivers Team’ . On top of that, in addition to the American influences within America, other people (not us) have invested tremendously to influence and promote their foreign interests within America (ex: AIPAC) – and are widely heard. This global group is in constant contact through the vast network of gigantic international institutions they founded that work around the clock to shift resources to meet their interests.

Back to the one man. Obama’s primary role as the elected President of the United States is to juggle ‘American’ interests within the context of ‘global’ interests as best he could without tipping the scales over. There is no question that Obama is a hard worker. But he’s got a lot on his plate and his priorities may not necessarily match ours – everyone wants peace but its a matter of what kind of peace we want. Change, the type of change WE want, means undoing this vast network that has been building its foundations since before the treaty of Versailles and whose prosperity came at the majority’s expense.

Changing that is a big hassle. Let’s instead look at ourselves. How hard is it to change one’s own lifestyle? adapting new habits? quitting smoking? waking up early for a morning jog, read books, eat healthy, volunteer, tutor someone, launch a project, mentor an orphan, build shelter, advocate on behalf of the silenced. millions of publications, articles, books, websites, and blogs out there plead everyone to adapt a healthier lifestyle in a promise that they would feel better about themselves and build stronger communities. How many people do you know are committed to bettering themselves? Why are we so hopeful that someone will go out of his/her way to alter the international system and ‘fix’ our lives when the vast majority of us are not helping ourselves?

Unfortunately, in the Arab World we pride on bad habits and outdated modes of thought we inherited from generations past. We are taught to blame the surroundings for our misfortune. We were taught to accept the status quo. We were taught that many things in life are simply given to you if you were meant to have it. We were taught that current social norms are key to the stability of our social fabric. We were taught right or wrong without questioning or even talking to the opposing side. We were taught to memorize, not to think. We were taught to censor our thoughts. We were taught that most things were set in stone long before we came around. We were taught to wait for imported solutions.

This is the launch pad for many people who enter this life in the Arab World (probably elsewhere too but for the purposes of this work the Arab World will play the exemplary role). Whether in underprivileged communities or in elitist circles, children are being raised by mindless ‘idols’ who follow a system they contributed nothing to. This is the majority who were taught not to have interests that go beyond the fear of survival – and leave the rest to the unknown.

Although it also fair to say, so as to not to stamp a pessimist label on a people, that a considerable number of Arabs have committed to themselves one way or the other and have excelled. They are educated, entrepreneurial, active community members, innovative , and influential. More often than not however, these efforts are selfish in nature in the sense that they occur in isolation of the greater well being of Arabs as a whole. These efforts are not concerted or built within an organized framework that promotes a common interest that benefits all. Unfortunately, the benefits of individual success and fortune in the Arab World simply trickle down rather than fuel the economy.

Know-how and best-practices in the Arab world is seldom shared. For example, the vast majority (or at least the ones that get the most publicity) of self-improvement workshops organized locally are taught by foreigners who were invited to teach us how to become leaders – where are our leaders? I would think they would be better suited to give an enlightened Arab perspective and vision on leadership that communicates Arab interests and goals and how we could coordinate our efforts in all fields to achieve them.

Arab fortune is selfish. Wealth per capita figures in the Arab and the illogical vast disparity between haves and have-nots in the Arab Worldworld puzzle economists and upsets appetites. We slave ourselves with foreign funding when as an entity we have enough resources to build an empire.

Why again are we waiting for Obama to shape up our lives?

[Nadine Toukan]

Good POV and question!
Because we have trained ourselves to be poor, and specific to Jordan, our brand is bust!
Mohanned asks some important questions here
Leaders can't really lead anymore in ways they've been trained to. The shift we live right now is very confusing to them, and still hasn't caught critical mass on our side/the community - be it region/Arab or country specific/Jordan. The system of the waiting game generation is about to expire - soon! What needs to happen is for us to get aggressive in building parallel systems, parallel solutions that engage anyone who chooses and is able to contribute. We are wasting as we hope for reform to work or leaders to get enlightened. And if a couple do - they are surrounded by a net of people who wake up with the intent of dimming the lights on things (I call them the anesthesia entourage) - and breaking through that either way is a waste of time and energy.

If you try hard enough and think creatively and are willing to put in the time, you can finance anything you have in mind from the region. The process is very different than proposing and begging to donors, tapping into aid, and the hurry-up-and-wait philosophy, but alternatives do exist. And when enough programs, projects, businesses and independent movements that impact society get going that way, they impact policy, governance which in turn impacts the aid disease and liberates us from that trap. It's a process, and it will succeed if it starts here and picks up momentum. Grow your tribe :)

We need to create alternative systems - socially, economically, culturally, spiritually, politically, in education, at play, at work, etc... I always say do it online and take it offline. Connect with a few that matter to your goal, and have the debate here, grow it's breadth, think of new possibilities, and go offline and try them out with the community you've been engaged with online, and make it contagious. It works for business, for socializing, for media making and consumption, for job opportunities, match making, etc... why shouldn't it work for a collective recreation of a whole new way of thinking and doing?!

Think open source as a life code!

On the Obama wait syndrome, I blogged it here after his Cairo speech. To summarize:
متى سينهض العالم العربي بنفسه؟

Look at China, India, Canada...not waiting for Obama! All doing some amazing things, and yes, have their fair share of issues, major and minor, but not waiting for anyone. Where is Arabia?

[Tamer AlMasri]

Thanks for the insightful comments Nadine. I strongly agree that the entire system needs an overhaul and taking it sector by sector is the best way to do it. At the same time we are fortunate to have a group (modest group) of people who are dedicated in one way or the other in their own capacity to take initiative and alter the status quo. I really like the online/offline method you suggest - for the time being its the best tool to coordinate a value added ripple effect across society.