Blogging About what I have Learned in 50 years
This is my first blog as a writer and author and it comes after completing my first year living and working in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
It has become apparent to me as I age how much more tolerant I have become and how my thought process has changed significantly. What I considered to be my beliefs in my first 50 years on this planet has shifted to something totally different in my next 50 years. I’ve decided to write about them because I find it intriguing that I didn't understand some of this before. Perhaps its because as I have aged I no longer take other peoples word as the truth.
I was riding in a cab a few weeks ago talking to the Bangladeshi driver and when I asked him how he liked living in Abu Dhabi, he said something to me that caught me off guard. He stated “its great living here in Abu Dhabi because there is no democracy.”
Wow, what a thought. At first I was a little taken aback, considering I have grown up in a democracy all my life, but the more I thought about what he said the more I began to understand what he was talking about. Most of the USA newspapers are writing about the next 2 years of government in United States with the lame duck presidency of Obama. This is on account of the Democrat’s losing their majority in congress. Even with a majority, President Obama had been unable to really get much done in the first 2 years of his presidency. If history is to repeat itself, and it usually does, the Republicans from this point forward will not allow the Democrats to accomplish anything prior to the next election, thereby hoping that they can take over the presidency in 2012. What this means is for the next 2 years senators and congressmen will earn hefty pay checks and will do everything in their power to accomplish nothing for the American people. Their democracy seems to hinge on getting elected and not so much on doing anything for their country.
Canada hasn’t fared much better, stuck with a minority government as dysfunctional as the United States. Canada’s Prime Minister Harper has ruled the country hardly able to contain his contempt for the other parties or anyone living east of Alberta. Unfortunately the opposition parties are being led by people Canadians don’t want to vote in to lead the country, so there we sit with an ineffective government for another year.
I am presently living in a country directed by absolute monarchies (one for each of the Emirates) and a supreme ruler (a president) voted on by those same monarchies. He is ruler for life. (Half of the lower government positions are elected, with the other half to be elected in the next few years). Yes there is no real democracy here but I am amazed at how closely the government listens to and works with its people.
Changes can happen here in a short period of time, like a small company that can get to market quicker than a large corporation because it isn’t laidened down with process. The bureaucratic mess North America owns is non existent here and it shows. 39 years ago this country was a dumpy group of disheveled buildings sitting in the desert. Today Abu Dhabi is the cornerstone city for a country of wealth, but more importantly this country has a vision. It is quite profound how far they have come and that they were able to accomplishing this in 39 years. It is quite staggering in its size. With the present democracy in place in Canada and United States we would be lucky if what they have accomplished could be done in 100 year.
And this is the crux of the matter. One is not better than the other, just different. The mission to entrench democracy around the world has consistently proven to be a failure. Why is that? Perhaps because the US doesn’t understand the true sense of the people and culture of the country it is trying to liberate. Maybe the people themselves are not hung up on democracy when they see it in action.
For UAE, the present system seems to work just fine. It might have its warts with censorship of the internet, no affection to be shown in public and other rules that seem archaic in this day and age, but the local people don’t seemed to be phased by it, so why should I?
Having the wrong person in charge no matter what system is in place can be devastating. Remember George W. Bush?
Democracy hasn’t proven its better. It’s only proven it’s different.
