So to speak: The virtues of great people

Opinion Thursday 28/July/2016 09:05 AM
By: Times News Service
So to speak: The virtues of great people

I just came back from a holiday in Europe and realised that well organised people contribute to a great nation. I saw Arab tourists consistently leave their litter behind while their European counterparts clean up when they leave the squares. Arabs leave it to somebody else to clean up their mess. If I make a mountain out of a molehill from the trash Arabs leave behind while they are on holiday then I can justify it at home. They make mistakes repeatedly and hope the international community will tolerate them or bail them out when they face problems. In doing so, they left themselves open to exploitations and fall into the same hole that they should have overstepped if only they organised themselves properly. Seven centuries ago, Arabs set the pace in medicine, mathematics, engineering, and astronomy. They knew where they were going because they followed an unwavering discipline that had no rival.
Today, Arabs are badly detached from the greatness of their ancestors, like a retinal detachment, blind from any ambition. It all boils down to poor governance, which is a product of sloppiness of individuals and lack of hindsight. The mentality that ‘tomorrow will be a better day by the grace of God’ simply means ‘we cannot be bothered to establish a working plan’ that will smooth out problems that we are likely to face.
I was also watching Arabs show disrespect to the cultures and heritage of their hosts in Europe when they lose their cool when things go wrong. Or the words they used when something do not go their way. When you travel to a foreign country, you become a representative of your culture. You are an ambassador of your country and to be in the best behaviour is part of diplomacy. How one behaves in another country is not different how one behaves in their own country. People make up nations but nations never make up people. It is all about how much can be accomplished in a short time for short-term goals for the benefits of few.
They do not finish what they start, the way they do not finish the meals they order in European countries they visit, because the plan is too grand and not properly thought of. To them, bigger is better even though there is no justification.