Tharwalizations

Change is in the air

If the region spirals into warfare again, there will be enough blame to go around of course. But someone in the region should bear in mind that, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region did have 15 years to reinvent itself in accordance with the new realities all around it, but failed to do so. Stability and constancy are not values always to be cherished, and change no matter how onerous a task it might pose is not an existential threat. It becomes so when people try to avoid it at all costs, just as the peoples and government of the region did. But change is coming nonetheless, and violence will play a role in it, regardless of our best intentions. We are better off planning to manage it rather than resist in that nihilistic fashion to which many of our leaders seem accustomed.

A Note on Apathy

Apathy is probably one of the most puzzling and serious social diseases affecting regional youth these days. Yet, we can blame economic conditions and the local fear culture, stemming out of authoritarian predilections of ruling regimes and the potential for ethnic strife in some cases, only so much before we have to stop and consider the involvement of other factors in this matter as well. For fear and economic hardships only represent the inhibitive side of the equation, while human behavior is equally shaped by motivating factors. Indeed, the lack of credible leaders and the lack of a promising vision of the future, both of which are necessary factors for inspiring people into action, seem to be involved here as well.

Yet, the barriers represented by fear and poverty cannot be broken unless a realistic and attractive pull factor is introduced onto the scene. Had Islamist and nationalist interpenetrations truly sufficed in this regard, our regions would have succumbed to Islamism and nationalism decades ago. But, it is the fact that many of our youths, regardless of the particular nature of their religiosity and national identity, are still yearning from something more rational and modern that is exactly what is keeping the regional options open.

But unless the more liberal and rational elements out there attempt to offer a more appealing and rational vision and soon, our youths are bound to fall by default to the lures of the only real vision now dominating the scene, which tends to combine Arab nationalism and Islamism. Moreover, the “victories” achieved by the proponents of this vision, Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, etc., or at least their ability to stand up to the rest of the world, and to give their followers and sympathizers a sense of empowerment, are bound to help their cause, while serving to weaken ours.

Of Freedom and Stability

We should give as much thought to the issue of quality with regard to the peace and stability that many of us are advocating and holding on to, as we do to the consequences of change and instability. After all, the search for freedom, progress prosperity and justice is no longer reconcilable, if it has ever been, with the status quo in our part of the world, and does indeed pose a serious challenge to it. Our search to improve the quality of lives requires and necessitates radical change.

We are indeed facing an existential crisis par excellence here, and have been for quite a while now, yet we continue to turn our backs on it. This is undermining our ability to survive it, both as viable states and as a viable culture. Should we persist in our rejectionist attitude vis-à-vis change, there might indeed be nothing left for us to reject soon. Our choices, our fate and our resources might just be taken away from us just as easily as they were handed down to us. History does not wait for people to make their up minds at their leisure, regardless of the legitimacy of their hesitation, their concerns and their fears with regard to change, and the all-too-human nature of them all. For history, though made by people, is as dispassionate about their feelings as time itself. History is Time. The only thing it can ever do is pass, regardless of whether we are onboard or deep under.

Reality between explanation and justification

Our attempt to explain the reality around us neither justifies nor consecrates it. Rather, it is only a necessary instrument that can enable us to better deal with it, its causes and consequences, and its impact on our lives. Consequently, our description of diversity in our region and of the rising ethnic tension in it is only meant to make sense of it and to enable us to better deal with it and with the challenges it poses for all of us.