The culture of dialogue, to those unaccustomed to its mechanisms, can be a tricky endeavor. If one is accustomed to dictating, ordering, talking and not listening, it becomes harder to convince others when the need arises. Behavior indicative of such brazen lack of give and take can be seen in Dick Cheney’s outburst on the floor of the Senate.
It might be argued that Cheney is the anomaly in the Senate. In our cloistered world, which is being forcefully prized open by events, the outbursts and the warped logic are the norm. If we have a problem now, we react by enumerating the times we have had problems and boast how many times we came out winners. This is a tactic that is utterly oblivious to the times, the nature of events, and the progression (or regression) that happened over a period of time.
Man’s ultimate attempt at dialogue is philosophy. The majority of humanity thinks that philosophy is there to comfort. But philosophy is an attempt at understanding, and that is a totally different proposition. Comfort (ethereal as it might be) comes from sticking one’s head in the sand, from refusing to see where events are leading, and ultimately denying reality.
The ugly reality today is that an innocent man was brutally murdered and his head was placed on his back. Such inhumanity is beyond comprehension. I can say what others have already said and tell the world that Islam has nothing to do with it, but that is futile because the world is in no mood to hear this argument anymore. Understanding this fact does not bring us comfort but will put us on the road to facing the ugly reality.
Before tackling Islam itself, I think we should engage our own customs, traditions, paternal writ and authority, and the grand system upon which we built sandcastles. We should tackle the injustices that reward mediocrity in schools, the workplace and high office. Excellence in our tradition is shunned and feared. That is an ugly fact that should be looked in the eye and admitted.
High school diplomas are based on a split mark between schoolwork and the general exams conducted by the ministry. If his father is the owner of that school, the pupil is guaranteed a full mark regardless of intellectual prowess, and the fact that the kid is only halfway to excellence and a decent passing grade. And you wonder why this place is full of diplomas and hardly any education?
A journalist who does not ask embarrassing questions will become editor in chief. A man full of platitudes and little knowledge will become a consultant. A crony of a crony will arrive at the airplane’s door late and in a Cadillac while the competent doctors, engineers and professors with their families are stuck in the bus with the doors locked till the VIPs board. These are realities, and the sense of injustice does not need to come in gulps: drops will eventually fill the bucket.
Decapitation is not an answer to anything and will resolve nothing. Small measures make big nations and strong societies. If nothing else, they will give a sense of belonging and loyalty, and that is enough for the time being.
