so i was in a cab today and the taxi man and i were chatting (as one usually does when they're alone in a cab) he asked all the usual questions: where are you from? are you here on vacation or do you live here?
so i told him i was from Saudi Arabia, and that i came here to study..
taxi man: what are you studying?
me: politics
taxi man: why?!!! there ARE no politics in Saudi Arabia
me: why would you say that?!!
taxi man: you have a King don't you?
me: yeah, so?
taxi man: what the king says everyone does. for example: if he asked everyone to wear red shoes every Sunday, that is what everyone would have to do!
i tried to explain to him that we do have a monarch, and yes, we are not a democracy, but that doesn't mean politics does not exist. he then went on and on about how HE knew the solution to all Middle Eastern problems.. and that was.. yes ladies and gentlemen, you guessed it,, the ideology that is the essence of peace, happiness, equality, freedom etc etc.. DEMOCRACY :)
Democracy: government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
in theory, this system is Utopian. an ideal dream created by the West working for the West. i say this because for some odd reason, when these Western post-modern missionaries come to spread the joys of democracy in third world countries, they use bombs and fighter planes to spread the peace. they force people into new political systems to promote their freedom to choose. they kill young and old in "friendly fires" to ensure happiness for the rest.. and they will do that to anyone who stands in their way to confirm equality.
i tried to explain to the cab driver that there was no such thing as absolute rule, as there is no such thing as absolute democracy. and that i study politics, in order to understand this horrific phenomenon that conducts the world and try to find a way around it!
i personally think it is very narrow-minded to assume that just because a King reigns over Saudi Arabia, he is in charge of everything within the borders of this massive country.
I mean think about it, if you are the head of a household, you cannot control the every aspect of the lives of the people living under your roof.. let alone an entire 1,960,582 sq km of land and 27,000,000 people!!!
but lets say, hypothetically.. what if an actual absolute dictatorship existed. and i, one of the citizens of this country decided i would like to know how the leader of the country ran his country.. would i not have the right to?!! just because somewhere, someone out there disagreed with my country's system of rule.. would that make me unworthy of the knowledge i would like to gain?!!
When it comes to politics, why is it easy for people to dismiss all views other than theirs even though the ideologies and assumptions are endless?!!
honey, i'm sure you've had worse conversations during your stay in england, i'm sure you've run into people who will attack the very essence that is our country, that will attack our religion and our king.
ReplyDeleteat least you know this taxi driver is obviously ignorant but not offensive.
you will never be able to convince them that this "war on terror" defies everyone democratic. all they are doing is colonizing under the name of democracy, but they will never admit to it..
so take a chill pill and go play sequence or something :)
Poltics and Advil go hand in hand.
ReplyDeletefroggy,, its baloot these days!!
ReplyDeletebroke saudi, thanx for the advise lol
balot you say? hmm.. i'm gonna have to put you to the test next time i see you... mrs. froggy is an fellow addict as well. lets see if you can match her mad skills that were developed under severe training by yours truly ;-)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFROGGY.. u and the Mrs are ON!!!
ReplyDeleteOkay, dismiss the cab driver. From what I know, people who claim to know the solutions to political issues are usually dumbstruck when given the exact situation.
ReplyDeleteYou have the right to study whatever you want in order to quench your thirst for knowledge.
Politics is embedded in everything we do and say whether we like it or not.
thats the thing i never understand as well..why is there only ONE right political system?? ;/
ReplyDeletewhy can't different things suit different cultures?
why does every a country HAVE to be a democracy for it to be all good and dandy?
thats like the epitome of close-mindedness...
bleh :p
It doesn't work that way, monarchy is not going to let human rights rise enough so that it can claim equal rights for all, esp. in decision making, next thing is, people may dream of leadership and throw the king... we will always have the luxury of books and fairy tales...but eventually you'll have to perform some reality checks...You may consider some profession where you don't have to suffer in the head...
ReplyDeleteWell the taxi driver may have over simplified it, but in essence he was right wasn't he? You don't think democractic reform is going to help Saudi Arabia? It doesn't have to mirror American democracy and it doesn't have to arrive at the end of a foreign gun barrel. I don't want to dismiss views. I want to hear them all. The best way to ensure we can hear them is to ensure everyone has a voice.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree you are wasting your time studying politics. Inshallah real political power in KSA will be more fairly available in the near future.