The coming of winter to Jeddah relieves it of the scorching heat of torrid summer and it also brings a beautiful message for mankind. Seasons have been coming in the same cycle since the creation. It is an undeniable fact that the fit survive. The world would be a better place if this competition were fair. The rules of competition, however, have been violated to such an extent that instead of running the race, pulling the opponent’s leg is the rule. One who has this qualification and also has the additional qualification of being dishonestly confident about nothing is the fittest today — whether in the family or any working organization.
A new bride entering a family with better looks is a threat to the female who runs the family. Thus the fright of losing her position compels her to create a diversion leading to disaster for the new member. Similarly, the new member, without wanting to learn from the earlier one, wants to do things her own way. A worker who is an expert through experience doesn’t want to extend a helping hand to a beginner and the beginner wants to jump in without acknowledging the position of the experienced worker. Left are the ones who are uninterested but only want to take the family or the organization a step ahead of where it is.
It is time we learn from the changing of seasons. In the process of advancement we are preventing the world from taking a step forward. And this I feel is the actual reason for the melancholy, despondency and frustration which has produced revulsion, slaughter, massacre, bloodshed and despair around the globe. Isn’t the fear of losing its position as superpower what has made an enlightened country such as America fight terrorism with terrorism?
Arab News Opinion 16 January 2003
