Going back to 1994 when the United States hosted the World Cup, I happened to be watching an American TV channel when there was an interview with one of the American National League players. Toward the very end of that interview, the player made the following statement: “We are the BEST in EVERYTHING except in soccer (football) and as such we need to work hard to excel in it too.” In retrospect, I did not fully appreciate such a statement. Here I am now in my country and I hear the same statement almost daily and I don’t appreciate it here either. A large number of Saudi citizens (authorities as well as average citizens) tend to use the phrases “We are the best” or “We have the best of this or that” whenever asked to comment on things in the Kingdom.
Whenever I hear such a statement I immediately feel either outrage or pity for the person who makes such claims. My feelings are due to the fact that the official who makes such claims is not respecting me and millions of others out there. Yes, he may be right that we have good infrastructure, good universities, hospitals, airports and the list goes on — but the fact is that they are not the best and we still have a long way to go before they are. At the same time, I feel sorry for the average citizens who unconsciously mimic the officials’ statements and are not aware that there are many nations who are far better than us.
Hearing so many of these statements leads me to immediate and thoughtful reactions. The immediate response is translated into questioning whoever made such an assertion: What makes him or her say or believe that and what the basis for the idea is. A more thoughtful reactions leads me to argue that in the first place there are several factors that a person needs in order to assess whether we are the best in a particular aspect of life.
Moving along I have two main requests. The first is that you need to bear in mind a number of criteria, including political, social, economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transportation, and other public services. My another request to those who may believe we are the best is to judge us against the annual worldwide quality of life surveys conducted by the UN. The use of such recognized measures will determine whether we have reached significant levels in terms of educational achievements as well as the health and wealth of each citizen. Records show that for the sixth year in a row, Canada ranks first among 175 countries in the UN’s quality of life survey.
To be more specific and more practical, we need to consider employing the Human Development Index (HDI) which examines our health achievements and the education and wealth of each citizen by measuring the following: Life expectancy, educational achievement — adult literacy plus combined primary, secondary and tertiary enrollment — standard of living — real GDP per capita based on PPP exchange rates. Other features that we need to check when making such claims include personal safety, security, internal stability and street crime and the burglary rate. Additionally, law enforcement, censorship, and limitations on personal freedom, good international relations and sustainable economic growth should also be taken into account.
These factors or criteria are critical to overall quality of life standards in countries around the world. It is therefore imperative that they form the basis for any attempt to claim that we are the best and we must use figures based on the foregoing criteria to show that we are indeed the best, or among the best, in the world.
In my opinion, this is a very dangerous attitude simply because thinking or believing that makes us feel we are not in need of any attempt to improve the quality of our lives since we have already reached the top. At the same time, it makes us feel that we have no shortcomings and thus we do not see areas which need improvements and developments. Furthermore, it makes us narrow-minded and, I would argue, arrogant so that we do not try to learn from others and benefit from the knowledge and experience beyond our own.
I would like to conclude by whispering to those people who believe we are the best nation in the world in all aspects that we have a long way to go. Do not ignore the fact that because of instant communication, the world has become a small village.
(Dr. Khalid Al-Seghayer is a Saudi academic. He is based in Riyadh.)