Mailing List
11.6.09
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ihath
From the land of Arabian Nights, comes a story teller of a partially different kind.
Speech Fit for a President
9.6.09
Dear Mr. Obama or any future president or presidentess to follow him;
Feel free to use this speech, which I have laboured to write for hours, free of charge provided that it is delivered in the white house addressing the American people.
Dear fellow American citizens;
Today is an important day in our history, for it is a day that will be marked in the future as the day of the genuine change. I am addressing you hoping that each one of you will help me starting a new page, for I can’t do it on my own; I need each one of you to think creatively on how to achieve our objectives as a nation.
I am honoured to be talking to you from the beautiful city of Washington, our proud capital and to be living in the white house as your elected president/presidentess. The white house, for 200 years has stood as a symbol of the American presidency and the aspirations of American people. I am grateful for the rare opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of the house provided by the nation. As your representative I have travelled all over the world, I am proud to carry with me the good will of diverse nations who are saying: Hola, Ahoy, Ni hao, Marhaba, Salut, Ciào, Yia sou, Shalom, Namaste, Ohayoou gozaimasu, Aawubona and many others which I have forgotten.
We meet at a time of tension between the U.S. and the other nations of the world. — tensions rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between the west and the east includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many nations, and a Cold War in which the citizens of many countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many people to view the West as hostile to their old traditions.
We are a truly a great nation. We have excelled in science, placing the first man on the moon; our universities are centers of research and learning. From physics to history; our scientists and researchers have placed us on the forefront of excellence. More importantly, within our borders we have established a system that reflects the will of its people. In this wide and beautiful land lives millions of people, each and every one of them is able to speak his or her mind, worship god as they please and enjoy the freedom to live as they choose. Our system of government is based the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people. This is a truly amazing accomplishment, one which many nations strive for; yet for us it is reality on the ground that we take for granted. To our shores arrive every year, thousands of immigrants from the four corners of the earth. Seeking opportunities not available in their native lands. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words — within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum: "Out of many, one." The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, and its promise exists for all who come to our shores — that includes nearly the millions emigrants in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that sometimes are higher than average. Emigrants to our country have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our Universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. Our history is not without blemishes. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. The civil rights movement in the U.S, championed by Martin Luther King is a proud example to the whole world of how an oppressed minority can win its equal rights without using violence. We American citizens have plenty to be proud of.
However with regards to how we treated the rest of the world, our conduct has been less than stellar. In our quest to win the Cold War in the past we frequently supported oppressive regimes against the will of the people who live in those countries. Our leaders (democrats and republicans) have travelled the world preaching democracy and human rights, but their conduct has endorsed the complete opposite to serve our interest. Our government, in our name and towards our benefit, has placed brutal dictators in power, crushed democratic movements in third world countries and substantially undermined human rights. Afghanistan, is a case in point, of how we interfered in a country much to the detriment of its citizens. In our eagerness to defeat communism we endorsed and trained a most radical faction of Islam. While citizens of Afghanistan suffered the consequences of our actions, we celebrated winning our war against the Soviet Union. While the menacing threat of the monster we created was affecting only the lives of people in other countries we did not care. We rightfully felt outraged at the death of thousands in the 9/11 events, but we did not acknowledge that we had inflicted many equivalent catastrophes on other nations beforehand. We told ourselves “They hate us because of our democracy”, when in reality “They hated us because we denied them democracy while enjoying its fruit ourselves”. We condemned violence against us, but felt entitled to unleash it freely on anybody that stood in our self interest. We placed organizations and countries on the terrorist list for engaging in murdering children and the elderly, yet we engaged in acts of equal horror without any retribution. In Palestine we spent billions of dollars every year to arm the fourth’s strongest military power in the world to oppress a mostly hungry and unarmed population seeking the most minimum of human rights. We used the issue of woman rights to justify our interference in other countries that hurt both the men and woman in those places, yet in our own country women continue to earn 70% on a man’s salary and our culture continues to promote the idea of women as a cheap sex object. It's a story with a simple truth: violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on their way to the market. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered. It is time for a change. It is time for us to act in accordance to what we preach.
Today, we are the only super power. This is a difficult responsibility to embrace. For human history has often been a record of nations and tribes subjugating one another to serve their own interests. Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be shared. That does not mean we should ignore sources of tension. Indeed, it suggests the opposite: we must face these tensions squarely. Our days of finger pointing at others is over, we will lead by example.Today we change our foreign policy and put an end to all our unwanted and uninvited interferences with the rest of the world. We will display our commitment to democracy and human rights not with words but with concrete actions.
On that day, all the nations of the world from Chile to Korea will stand up and applaud.
Feel free to use this speech, which I have laboured to write for hours, free of charge provided that it is delivered in the white house addressing the American people.
Dear fellow American citizens;
Today is an important day in our history, for it is a day that will be marked in the future as the day of the genuine change. I am addressing you hoping that each one of you will help me starting a new page, for I can’t do it on my own; I need each one of you to think creatively on how to achieve our objectives as a nation.
I am honoured to be talking to you from the beautiful city of Washington, our proud capital and to be living in the white house as your elected president/presidentess. The white house, for 200 years has stood as a symbol of the American presidency and the aspirations of American people. I am grateful for the rare opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of the house provided by the nation. As your representative I have travelled all over the world, I am proud to carry with me the good will of diverse nations who are saying: Hola, Ahoy, Ni hao, Marhaba, Salut, Ciào, Yia sou, Shalom, Namaste, Ohayoou gozaimasu, Aawubona and many others which I have forgotten.
We meet at a time of tension between the U.S. and the other nations of the world. — tensions rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between the west and the east includes centuries of co-existence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars. More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many nations, and a Cold War in which the citizens of many countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many people to view the West as hostile to their old traditions.
We are a truly a great nation. We have excelled in science, placing the first man on the moon; our universities are centers of research and learning. From physics to history; our scientists and researchers have placed us on the forefront of excellence. More importantly, within our borders we have established a system that reflects the will of its people. In this wide and beautiful land lives millions of people, each and every one of them is able to speak his or her mind, worship god as they please and enjoy the freedom to live as they choose. Our system of government is based the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people. This is a truly amazing accomplishment, one which many nations strive for; yet for us it is reality on the ground that we take for granted. To our shores arrive every year, thousands of immigrants from the four corners of the earth. Seeking opportunities not available in their native lands. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire. We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal, and we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words — within our borders, and around the world. We are shaped by every culture, drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept: E pluribus unum: "Out of many, one." The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, and its promise exists for all who come to our shores — that includes nearly the millions emigrants in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that sometimes are higher than average. Emigrants to our country have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our Universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. Our history is not without blemishes. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. The civil rights movement in the U.S, championed by Martin Luther King is a proud example to the whole world of how an oppressed minority can win its equal rights without using violence. We American citizens have plenty to be proud of.
However with regards to how we treated the rest of the world, our conduct has been less than stellar. In our quest to win the Cold War in the past we frequently supported oppressive regimes against the will of the people who live in those countries. Our leaders (democrats and republicans) have travelled the world preaching democracy and human rights, but their conduct has endorsed the complete opposite to serve our interest. Our government, in our name and towards our benefit, has placed brutal dictators in power, crushed democratic movements in third world countries and substantially undermined human rights. Afghanistan, is a case in point, of how we interfered in a country much to the detriment of its citizens. In our eagerness to defeat communism we endorsed and trained a most radical faction of Islam. While citizens of Afghanistan suffered the consequences of our actions, we celebrated winning our war against the Soviet Union. While the menacing threat of the monster we created was affecting only the lives of people in other countries we did not care. We rightfully felt outraged at the death of thousands in the 9/11 events, but we did not acknowledge that we had inflicted many equivalent catastrophes on other nations beforehand. We told ourselves “They hate us because of our democracy”, when in reality “They hated us because we denied them democracy while enjoying its fruit ourselves”. We condemned violence against us, but felt entitled to unleash it freely on anybody that stood in our self interest. We placed organizations and countries on the terrorist list for engaging in murdering children and the elderly, yet we engaged in acts of equal horror without any retribution. In Palestine we spent billions of dollars every year to arm the fourth’s strongest military power in the world to oppress a mostly hungry and unarmed population seeking the most minimum of human rights. We used the issue of woman rights to justify our interference in other countries that hurt both the men and woman in those places, yet in our own country women continue to earn 70% on a man’s salary and our culture continues to promote the idea of women as a cheap sex object. It's a story with a simple truth: violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on their way to the market. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered. It is time for a change. It is time for us to act in accordance to what we preach.
Today, we are the only super power. This is a difficult responsibility to embrace. For human history has often been a record of nations and tribes subjugating one another to serve their own interests. Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be shared. That does not mean we should ignore sources of tension. Indeed, it suggests the opposite: we must face these tensions squarely. Our days of finger pointing at others is over, we will lead by example.Today we change our foreign policy and put an end to all our unwanted and uninvited interferences with the rest of the world. We will display our commitment to democracy and human rights not with words but with concrete actions.
On that day, all the nations of the world from Chile to Korea will stand up and applaud.
Fictional Thank You
1.6.09
Special Note: Writing non-fiction has become too painful. I will write mostly fiction from now on. The following is fictional; all characters were made up in my imagination. Any similarity to people is accidental.
Doug had been checking his email every 5 minutes all day. The anticipation was hitting him like sea waves hitting the shore on a windy day. This was a seminal moment in his relationship with Nelly. “It is a good sign that she is taking her time responding” thought Doug to himself. “It means that she is putting thought into it, bound to be good”, he assured himself. When the email from Nelly finally arrived, with the subject line “Thank you for the lesson”. Doug sighed a big sigh of relief. “Aha! I got her exactly where I want” he said to no one in particular. He began to read in a hurry.
Dear Doug;
In Arabic we have a saying “Akbar menak beyoum, afham menak besanah”, translated to “the one that is older than you by one day understands a year worth more that you do”. Implying that older people have more knowledge. Well, I think that saying is nonsense. I have met many older people who didn’t know what they were talking about. In fact, I have discovered that, it is the younger people that we should try to learn lessons from. And you are a case in point. You see, I am a few years older than you and I have learned so much from just meeting you a few times.
For example, remember how you said that you didn’t know “he whom we do not speak off”, and now it turns out that he is a close friend of yours and you even refer to him with his real name. In my old traditional and backwards days I would have called that lying. But now, thanks to you I have realized that that is such a harsh and judgmental mentality that I live with. Thanks to you I have learned that this is called liberal and creative bending of factual verities. It was hugely difficult for me to share the story of my personal life. I am a fanatically private person. I have never told anybody about my dreams. My face was turning red with embarrassment each time I clicked the send button. I assured myself that I was communicating with a mature and reasonable person and that by doing my side of sharing, I was facilitating a discussion that allowed for depth. By not sharing I was holding myself in a power position and not allowing you to form your own informed opinion about the matter. When I learned that you shared my emails with your friends. I immediately jumped to conclusion and thought what a silly teenager who behaves like he has never talked to a real woman before. But now that I think about it I realize that I was very very old fashioned in my ways. This is not called immature behavior; this is called open minded egalitarian sharing of pertinent information.
When you forwarded our entire email conversation to “he whom we do not speak off”, without asking my permission in the matter, the first word that popped in my mind was betrayal. Ah! once again, I learn a new lesson on how my brain is wired the wrong way. Sharing private emails with a person known for his abrasive commentary instead of having the decorum of allowing me to decide whether I want to discuss my own view on the matter is not betrayal at all and decorum is old fogies word any way. It is called enlightened oness with the natural forces of nature.
To you respect is the odd sunny day in Seattle; But I grew up in the desert where it was sunny every day. But then every once in a while; a sand storm would arise and hide the sun behind a yellow haze. During those days, I tasted sand in my mouth and my eyes stung in pain as the sand granules hit my cornea. Doctors prescribed relocation to asthma patients, for only the tough can survive when it is sunny every day. Look how green and beautiful Seattle is. Clearly, your model of the odd sunny day yields better results. After all, what do I know? I am a failure on so many fronts. I am one of those losers that think that in life there are far worse things that can happen to you than failing in your pursuit. You can succeed, but lose yourself in the process. Frequently people get what they want by sleeping with the boss, or becoming experts at kissing ass. In those departments, I am a proud failure. But people who are focused on success don’t carry around such a backwards mentality.
I am a non exceptional person in almost everything. Looks, intelligence, talent, charm, luck .... you name it, I got some, but not that much. I am not smarter than the average person, nor better looking than the average woman, nor any more talented that average Joe next door. I got some smarts, adequate enough to help me get through the stuff that I need to, but not more than that. I got enough good looks to one day hopefully attract one good husband into my life, but nothing more. I have one area of excellence and one only. I am stubborn. If I decide that Mt. Rainier needs to move from its location, then you can bet that one day you will look on the Seattle horizon and be missing a mountain. Not because I know anything about digging mountains, not because of any physical strength that I possess, not because of any brilliant idea that I come up with that other people can't think off, but because of the strength of my determination. If I put it into my head that Mt. Rainier needs to move, god himself won't be able to stop me except by ending my life while I try to finish that which I have set my mind to. But next to your varied talents I can’t help but stand in awe of your awesomeness.
In fact, you are so splendidly great, that mortal words can’t comprehend your utter prominence. I can only wish that I would gain a fraction of your sense importance. Here I am talking to you in your language, using your cultural references, dressed in western clothing and it is me who doesn’t understand your culture. Yet you have been able to thoroughly understand my culture and declare yourself an expert in it without any effort all. You don’t know a single word from my language, you never heard the name of any poet from my homeland and you can’t stand listening to one minute of the music, nevertheless you can expertly analyze my behavior in reference to the disturbed images you have seen in TV. Dude! You are incredible. One day I will be able to do that and forgo the burden of study.
So thank you for the valuable lessons. I can’t wait for my next one.
I wish you happy hand induced sperm liberation while you write email sermons on freedom of speech and democracy as you view released from clothing images. You seem to be good …. at doing all three together I mean.
Tell all your friends that Nelly sends them her best wishes for a tender and sweet infiltration up their rears.
Oh! And do you remember how I said you would always be welcome to write on my blog. I retract that statement. I don’t feel worthy of your youthful, open minded presence.
Sincerely;
Nelly
.... To be continued
Doug had been checking his email every 5 minutes all day. The anticipation was hitting him like sea waves hitting the shore on a windy day. This was a seminal moment in his relationship with Nelly. “It is a good sign that she is taking her time responding” thought Doug to himself. “It means that she is putting thought into it, bound to be good”, he assured himself. When the email from Nelly finally arrived, with the subject line “Thank you for the lesson”. Doug sighed a big sigh of relief. “Aha! I got her exactly where I want” he said to no one in particular. He began to read in a hurry.
Dear Doug;
In Arabic we have a saying “Akbar menak beyoum, afham menak besanah”, translated to “the one that is older than you by one day understands a year worth more that you do”. Implying that older people have more knowledge. Well, I think that saying is nonsense. I have met many older people who didn’t know what they were talking about. In fact, I have discovered that, it is the younger people that we should try to learn lessons from. And you are a case in point. You see, I am a few years older than you and I have learned so much from just meeting you a few times.
For example, remember how you said that you didn’t know “he whom we do not speak off”, and now it turns out that he is a close friend of yours and you even refer to him with his real name. In my old traditional and backwards days I would have called that lying. But now, thanks to you I have realized that that is such a harsh and judgmental mentality that I live with. Thanks to you I have learned that this is called liberal and creative bending of factual verities. It was hugely difficult for me to share the story of my personal life. I am a fanatically private person. I have never told anybody about my dreams. My face was turning red with embarrassment each time I clicked the send button. I assured myself that I was communicating with a mature and reasonable person and that by doing my side of sharing, I was facilitating a discussion that allowed for depth. By not sharing I was holding myself in a power position and not allowing you to form your own informed opinion about the matter. When I learned that you shared my emails with your friends. I immediately jumped to conclusion and thought what a silly teenager who behaves like he has never talked to a real woman before. But now that I think about it I realize that I was very very old fashioned in my ways. This is not called immature behavior; this is called open minded egalitarian sharing of pertinent information.
When you forwarded our entire email conversation to “he whom we do not speak off”, without asking my permission in the matter, the first word that popped in my mind was betrayal. Ah! once again, I learn a new lesson on how my brain is wired the wrong way. Sharing private emails with a person known for his abrasive commentary instead of having the decorum of allowing me to decide whether I want to discuss my own view on the matter is not betrayal at all and decorum is old fogies word any way. It is called enlightened oness with the natural forces of nature.
To you respect is the odd sunny day in Seattle; But I grew up in the desert where it was sunny every day. But then every once in a while; a sand storm would arise and hide the sun behind a yellow haze. During those days, I tasted sand in my mouth and my eyes stung in pain as the sand granules hit my cornea. Doctors prescribed relocation to asthma patients, for only the tough can survive when it is sunny every day. Look how green and beautiful Seattle is. Clearly, your model of the odd sunny day yields better results. After all, what do I know? I am a failure on so many fronts. I am one of those losers that think that in life there are far worse things that can happen to you than failing in your pursuit. You can succeed, but lose yourself in the process. Frequently people get what they want by sleeping with the boss, or becoming experts at kissing ass. In those departments, I am a proud failure. But people who are focused on success don’t carry around such a backwards mentality.
I am a non exceptional person in almost everything. Looks, intelligence, talent, charm, luck .... you name it, I got some, but not that much. I am not smarter than the average person, nor better looking than the average woman, nor any more talented that average Joe next door. I got some smarts, adequate enough to help me get through the stuff that I need to, but not more than that. I got enough good looks to one day hopefully attract one good husband into my life, but nothing more. I have one area of excellence and one only. I am stubborn. If I decide that Mt. Rainier needs to move from its location, then you can bet that one day you will look on the Seattle horizon and be missing a mountain. Not because I know anything about digging mountains, not because of any physical strength that I possess, not because of any brilliant idea that I come up with that other people can't think off, but because of the strength of my determination. If I put it into my head that Mt. Rainier needs to move, god himself won't be able to stop me except by ending my life while I try to finish that which I have set my mind to. But next to your varied talents I can’t help but stand in awe of your awesomeness.
In fact, you are so splendidly great, that mortal words can’t comprehend your utter prominence. I can only wish that I would gain a fraction of your sense importance. Here I am talking to you in your language, using your cultural references, dressed in western clothing and it is me who doesn’t understand your culture. Yet you have been able to thoroughly understand my culture and declare yourself an expert in it without any effort all. You don’t know a single word from my language, you never heard the name of any poet from my homeland and you can’t stand listening to one minute of the music, nevertheless you can expertly analyze my behavior in reference to the disturbed images you have seen in TV. Dude! You are incredible. One day I will be able to do that and forgo the burden of study.
So thank you for the valuable lessons. I can’t wait for my next one.
I wish you happy hand induced sperm liberation while you write email sermons on freedom of speech and democracy as you view released from clothing images. You seem to be good …. at doing all three together I mean.
Tell all your friends that Nelly sends them her best wishes for a tender and sweet infiltration up their rears.
Oh! And do you remember how I said you would always be welcome to write on my blog. I retract that statement. I don’t feel worthy of your youthful, open minded presence.
Sincerely;
Nelly
.... To be continued