Count Me Out For Now!

While some argue that elections give transitional countries experience with organizing parties and civil society in addition to improving the protection of civil liberties, others argue that well-functioning rule of law must precede elections. The importance of a vibrant middle class and a functioning state apparatus are also stressed on as prerequisites of meaningful elections.

In the absence of many of these prerequisites, the question that remains in my head: why should I vote on Tuesday (our Tuesday that is November 9, 2010)? I am fully aware that this is a “chicken and egg" question? Ooops this riddle has been recently resolved, it’s the chicken. Well, you get the gist of what I am trying to say. I hope!

If the process of campaigning is any indication, then I am definitely turned off. If the track record of the candidates is any indication, then common sense tells me that the majority of them did not get to finish their last term because they were simply fired (I have no better way to describe it). So seeing them back again would be equivalent to Yogi Berra’s “It's déjà vu all over again". A nightmare scenario if you ask me. If the firing of many of the likely lucky future MPs, ok ok term dissolution, was unfair (as some might argue), then the independence of this entire crucial branch is more of a reason not to vote. To tell you the truth, when the last session was dissolved I got the feeling that the message was “you either do it the executive way, or I will show you the way”, out that is!!!

Sounds negative. I know. Well let me look at it from a more positive angle. I will start with letting bygones be bygones. Let me now look at the campaign program of the candidates I am supposed to cast my vote of confidence for. Program? What’s that? Some have declared superficial and skeleton ones through slogans that make elections sound more like martyrdom, while others have simply and “condescendingly” declared “no messages” but we are still supposed to take them seriously and vote for them. Others have graciously reminded us that Jordan is for Jordanians...how about the “non-Jordanians” (as defined by these very Jordanians) who will be voting?

I am extremely annoyed by the fact that I won’t be voting. But frankly speaking, I would be more annoyed to vote for a candidate simply because I have to. I’d rather delay this part of being a good citizen and concentrate on the many other parts that are real and can hopefully make a meaningful difference. Sorry...

The Paradox of Change

It is impossible not to feel the breeze of the winds of change sweeping through the Arab World today. Mesmerized by the news, and totally awestricken by the sheer fact that fear is gone; we the people of this region have finally reclaimed our long muted voice.

The speed with which the recent changes have taken over our lives has served as a centrifugal force of all indifference and passivity. Purgatory is no longer an option, it’s either hell or heaven; and the choice is ours! Consensus on the definition of what each means was also formed with a dizzying speed: hell is the status quo pre Tunisia, and heaven is the reality that we will proactively and collectively create together. All of a sudden, our vision has become that of an eagle in its clarity, and our mission that of a saint in its good will. Boundaries in all their forms have melted erasing with them all manifestations of apathy and numbness. Our outlook is now vibrant, energized, empathetic, and full of hope. We suddenly found ourselves falling in love with life, with action, with thinking, with history, with ourselves, and ultimately with one another. Our defeated souls no longer haunt us. We have trumped defeat with a vengeance, and we have all made a tacit pact among ourselves that never again will we be subject to the humiliation that we once helplessly and ashamedly suffered in silence.

In contemplating our future, it seems as if we all agree that the ball is in our court now, and it is up to us how we play it. There are varying views on what is the best way to go about asserting our right in determining this future. Regardless of what the means are, the end result must ensure building democratic institutions that would eventually transcend the individuals behind their creation. The foundation of these institutions is a rule of law that is just in its essence, and enforceable in its application. In this institutionalized system, universal equality might be farfetched, while equity must be its cornerstone. As for the skeptics who have long championed the condescending claim that Arabs aren’t ready yet for this neat exercise of institution building, my answer for now is anarchy!

Quoting the popular Arab adage “it doesn’t get constructed unless it gets destructed”.* The process of constructing will necessarily have to coincide with a radical phase of destruction. Bakunin, the well known theorist of collective anarchism said: “ The urge to destroy is also the urge to create”. Incidentally this urge, in its most absurd form, resembles to a large degree what the Arab world is going through today: a process of negation, without necessarily claiming to know what the best alternative is. What is certain today is that all forces of oppression- be they political, economic, cultural or moral are being confronted and attacked with unprecedented determination. More important, central to this confrontation is the proclamation of absolute confidence in the masses, as well as the absolute rejection of the stifling status quo that has for long symbolized the source of suffering and humiliation for many.

If politics were to resemble art, then drawing parallels with the Dadaist movement would be appropriate in this case. Nearly a century ago, Dadaism was formed as a direct result to the cataclysmic events of the turn of the 20th century. Today at the turn of the 21st century, we see Arab revolutions and upheavals taking place as a direct result of mind boggling oppression felt through accumulations of abuses, defeats and failures over the years. Dadaism response was “a rejection of the values of a society that had allowed such tragedies to happen”; and so is the Arab response in its rejection of anything associated with autocracy and dictatorship. Tristan Tzara summed up the Dada attitude in its manifesto of 1918: “Let everyone proclaim that we have a great work of destruction and negativity to accomplish. Sweep and clean. The cleansing of the fellow will take place after a period of total madness and aggression, the mark of a world left for too long in the hands of bandits who are tearing apart and destroying the centuries”. In effect what Tzara was describing was an anarchism that did not last, but nevertheless was catalytic in the creation of some of the greatest art that the 20th century witnessed including surrealism and avant guard styles.

Similar to Dadaism, the Arab world must go through this dialectical process of the struggle between the forces of destruction and construction in order for it to transcend into a full fledge independent and democratic society. A society that spouses the interests of its people and respects its will at large. A society that is dynamic and participatory. In this society, values of freedom reign supreme, and citizens are equal in rights and opportunities.

Finally it would be naïve to assume that the individuals carrying out the revolutions today are better intentioned than their predecessors decades ago who saw themselves just as progressive and good willed. The decisive factor of success today is the ability to build functioning and dynamic institutions that supersede and transcend the events leading to their creation. The day we see loyalties lie in protecting a system that we painstakingly create, rather than the individuals behind its creation, is the day we know that we have made it.

* تخرب لما إلا بتعمر ما

Leaderless leadership

Thursday's televised debate between Ayman Safadi and Youssef Mansour was disturbing. Safadi was vehemently defending the status quo; while Mansour was persistent in blurting accusations that are at best superficial and at worst hearsay. The end result was that the debate ended without offering any insight for understanding the frustration taking over our streets and our discourse lately.

Safadi overwhelmed Mansour with indicators that were clearly carefully anticipated and selected. In most cases these indicators were also true (I would definitely argue with the Aqaba so called Billions!!!) Mansour fell easily into the trap of Safadi by consistently being on the receiving end. He was weak in laying the grounds for what the opposition really wants or stands for. However, for anyone who thinks that Mansour’s weakness made Safadi look any better, let me just remind you of what happened in Tunisia a week ago.

Safadi could have easily been a Tunisian minister sitting in a televised debate on Al Nasmah channel defending the status quo with numbers that none of us could argue with. The question is, are these the numbers that we should be considering in evaluating our situation or in formulating opposition views. I highly doubt it. Had the revolution not taken place in Tunisia a week ago, it would still be hailed today for the progress it made on various fronts: economic, infrastructure, women’s issues, population mortality and growth rates, and many others.

Today we all know too well that any progress that does not filter down to the common man or woman on the street, is far from being called so. Stiglitz was one of the very first prominent economists who alerted us all from the perils of using Gross Domestic Product as an economic barometer for growth and prosperity.

In essence, what the leadership needs to know is that we can be selective about almost everything in life except one thing: the truth. Another thing I would add to the leadership the higher you are on your horse the more painful the fall is going to be. Empathy must definitely be the order of the day. On the other hand, what the opposition needs to know is that by definition they are opposed to something that they would want to replace. If what we saw on Friday is the alternative to the existing leadership, then I am sorry they ain’t getting my vote!

Until this leadership crisis is resolved , my motto will remain the incompetent devil I know is better than the incompetent one I don’t!

Out of Sight and Out of Touch!

A recent attempt at distributing Ramadan charity boxes (contains basic food like rice, sugar, wheat, etc.) proved to me that there are increasingly two groups in Jordan. The first is those who are out of touch, and the second is those who are out of sight. The relationship between the two is a direct one, as one increases the same change occurs in the other one.

The incident happened in Al-Ghor (Jordan Valley). I had called someone I know there to ask him to assist with distributing the charity boxes ( (BTW for lack of better word!!!) to poor families in the area. I indicated to him that the van with the goods will be there around 2 p.m . He then asked me to make it after Iftar instead. He said if we do it before iftar we are going to be inundated with people. In my head, I was skeptical to the extent that I secretly accused him of exaggerating because he was being lazy. I persisted and arranged for the van to be there in the afternoon. Sure enough, I got a call from the team going down there telling me that the van is swamped! People were hovering all over it wanting to get some of the food being distributed. We postponed this until after iftar as was advised earlier.

The above episode left me in shock. This is not the Jordan I know. This might happen in Africa, but not in my Jordan!

The more I thought of it the more I realized that my reaction of being shocked bothered me on two counts:

The first, am I so out of touch that I find such incidents absolutely shocking?

The second, how many of those are there who no longer can afford to be out of sight and have suddenly abandoned the dignity we have for so long attached to the poor of our country. We have always sought misguided comfort in the fact that the poor in Jordan are “mastooreen”, and I assure you the ones swamped the van are so. However when hunger strikes, no rules will ever apply.

My message is for those (me) who are out of touch, wake up! You are running out of excuses. For those who are out of sight, stand up! Your rights have had enough abuses.

The gist of my gig: hiding the sun with our finger might conceal it but it surely does not shield us from its heat!!!

Form to Transform!

Constant cabinet changes is only leading to constant lack of focus.

The continuous change in cabinets has become a source of ridicule and more important a source of agitation to many. This sarcasm has been intensified by the inability of various successive cabinets to speak of any significant achievements at all. If any, there are failures. Most important of all the failure to effect any true meaningful reform aimed at making the necessary adjustments for us to move ahead. In fact, it seems the primary objective of reform today is to lessen the state of backwardness we find ourselves in. It is no longer to make us move forward…at best it is to render us at least current!!!

The way I see it, a cabinet is a group of individuals who come together to effect a comprehensive plan that is interrelated and intertwined. The cohesive power of this group is the common good. A common good based on fact and realistic vision. In order for these individuals (whom we call cabinet) to deliver, they must go though the typical stages of any successful group formation. To borrow from Tuckman’s (and others such as M.Scott Peck) organization theory, the team must go through five stages:

1. Forming: where the team members have some initial discomfort with each other but nothing comes out in the open. They are insecure about their role and position with respect to the team.

2. Storming: where the team members start arguing heatedly and differences and insecurities come out in the open.

3. Norming: where the team members lay out rules and guidelines for interaction that help define the roles and responsibilities of each person. This corresponds to emptiness, where the community members think within and empty themselves of their obsessions to be able to accept and listen to others.

4. Performing: where the team finally starts working as a cohesive whole, and effectively achieve the tasks set of themselves. In this stage individuals are aided by the group as a whole where necessary, in order to move further collectively than they could achieve as a group of separated individuals.

5. Transforming: This corresponds to the stage of true community. This represents the stage of celebration, and when individuals leave, as they must, there is a genuine feeling of grief, and a desire to meet again.

Today in Jordan, we are still grappling with the storming and norming stages. The failure to accept and to listen to others is proving to be a staunch enemy that is preventing us from performing adequately in our plight to transform ourselves and our country. It is unfortunate that our inability to progress to the performing stage has become an all too familiar precursor for a cabinet change.

Therefore, it is extremely uncanny and unwise to dismiss the cynicism surrounding the revolving door of cabinets as simply “silly”. All we see are silos in action and no concerted cohesive efforts coordinated in a way to enable us to honestly speak of a properly functioning team of ministers.

I hope that next time we hear of a new cabinet, we remind ourselves that its formation is closely tied to performances that would eventually lead us to the transformation necessary to keep us not ahead of the game but at least in it.

Jordan Festival, AGAIN!

Jerash Festival is cancelled. No one knows with certainty why this arbitrary decision was taken few years ago. Many claim they know the sinister motives behind this cancellation, but none have had the guts to express their “classified information” in public. With all said and done, the issue of discontinuing Jerash Festival has become the pretext to attack any new attempt to fill the void left with its termination.

Jordan Festival opened last night with Amal Maher’s tribute to Um Kulthoum. The feedback from the event was telling on many levels. Apart from the praise of the brilliant performance that was befitting of a Diva, the kind of talk was indicative of an insecurity that we have harbored for too long and that we were only too happy to dispel. The feedback bordered on national pride, an elated feeling coupled with an implicit sigh of a relief of “Yes we can”. We can produce shows of such high standards. We can accommodate thousands without creating havoc. We can showcase a first class taste that we thought only others were capable of.

Not surprisingly, the view of certain expected and selected cynical few was different. It was not negative. It was poisonous. The organizers as well as the event were publicly attacked with malicious and mean spirited insinuations bordering on treason. Descriptions of the foundation backing this Festival as mysterious and alien is tantamount to slander. Those who have taken up the habit of attacking anything and everything must be stopped. They must be stopped not because it is unfair to the organizers, but because it is unfair to all Jordanians who are truly desperate for reasons to make them proud again.

Jerash Festival and Jordan Festival complement one another. They are not mutually exclusive. Support of a Jordan Festival does not mean quitting the calls for the return of Jersah Festival. I personally was very saddened to see it end, and I would at any moment call for its return.

Enough carping! We are tired! We want to be happy. And if this is a sin…then I am a sinner. We want to feel proud. We want to see honesty in the way things are handled. Unleashing attack dogs for no reason other than bitterness and egotistical motives does us all harm.

Finally, for all those who claim that the title is an infringement on the name “Jordan”, I say think again! Anything and anyone who succeeds in showing the beautiful face of Jordan deserves unequivocally to carry this name. Entitlement alone suffocates objectivity. Earning the right is by far a better judge!

We Finally Agree!

Growing up I remember the famous saying that we used to hear about the political stances of Arabs: “Arabs are only in accord to be in disaccord”. When it comes to social issues and problems, it seems that Jordanians have broken this rule. Today they all seem to be in accord that the social fabric as well as structures of our society are deteriorating. The good news is that we finally have a consensus; the bad news is that the news is really bad.

The issues I am referring to are dangerous: the disrespect and disregard to rule of law, rage in society, the collapse of social values, the bankruptcy of our educational system and the list goes on.

In times like these it is easy to point fingers, harp on dysfunctions, theorize, philosophize, criticize, and most dangerous of all pretend that we all have nothing to do with it. It is the doing of all those others. God only knows who these “others” are.

Failed attempts at reform on many levels have only fueled the sense of cynicism and skepticism that we find so prevalent these days. People seem demoralized, de-motivated, and at times totally disinterested. Positive outlooks are becoming synonymous with being gullible. Talk of gloom and doom is the order of the day.

It makes me really sad to see that this has become the environment we live in. However, this also makes my resolve even stronger to want to be part of the solution. If this sounds naive, then I am very naïve. I refuse to believe that the light is not at the end of the tunnel even if I do not see it. I might need to wear special glasses or change my perspective. The light is there, we just have to make an honest and sincere effort to see it.

Failed attempts at solving problems should never be a pretext to quit. If all attempts work from the first try, then we should all be standing in line for noble prizes. Failed attempts are lessons for us to learn from to try to get it right the next time round. Henry David Thoreau, the 19th century philosopher and author said: "For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, there is one striking at the root." Where there is a will there is a root waiting to be struck. We just have to have faith in each other and in the role that each and every one of us plays in making our world a better and sweeter one.