Fear is one of the most important instincts that makes us human. Fear helped early humans avoid dangerous situations like predatory animals. It made humans unite to form tribes which evolved into nation states, so they are able to defend themselves and protect their resources.
Nevertheless, it is important to distinguish between two types of fear. The first type is reasonable fear being based on a real foreseeable danger. It is prudent and wise to take appropriate protective action to protect oneself and others. Taking risks without proper assessment of danger is a sign of foolishness not bravery.
The second type of fear is unreasonable fear that keeps one from developing and growing that is fear from no real or reasonable danger. Some of these fears could really be determinant like fear of failure preventing one from taking calculated risks. Fear of rejection as if being refused by a loved one, a client or a boss is going to be the end of the world. There is also fear of innovation and of trying anything new leading to stagnation and being behind in technology.
As an Egyptian I found that our society teaches us fear from infancy. We were taught to be submissive and blindly follow authority. Our education system discourages critical thinking and makes students terrified to use their brains. At work employees are put in a bureaucratic system that encourage risks aversion and diffusion of responsibility. In the government and the private sector no one is responsible for anything and the few people who are willing to take charge are usually the most corrupt using the system for their personal gain. Those corrupt officials are very confident not because they are smarter than everyone, but because they are sure that noone is going to account them for their actions, since everyone is afraid.
Mubarak and his corrupt cronies are like a paper tigers that would crumble in front of people's will. However, in Egypt most people do not vote, thus giving the regime a plenty of room to forge the election. In addition, very few people are willing to demand real political reform, hence the government is giving them fake reforms to make it look better in front of the international community. Furthermore, many of us are afraid of rival ideas and wanting to live in our comfort zones, this makes democratic exchange of ideas impossible if everyone is guarding his/her mind perceiving any disagreement as a threat.
A nation living in fear will never progress unless it breaks the barrier of fear and looks into the future. Egyptians have a rich history with a glorious past that many try to reenact. However, time has changed we need to live in the present and plan for the future, but also learn from our past mistakes and achievements.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Eat less Meat
Many of my compatriots are complaining about the recent increase in the prices of meat, due to shortage of supply compared to the rise in demand or may be due to many monopolies that control the market. Meat has been one of the main tenets of Egyptian culture. Eating it is a sign of wealth and it is supposed to bring you health and happiness. It is an integral part of our religion Islam, Muslim celebrate their feast by eating meat to commemorate Prophet Abrahams sacrifice of his son Ishmael and God ordering Abraham to slaughter a lamb instead . In addition, Meat is a rich source of important proteins that are called essential amino acids that crucial in formation of muscles.
However, Egyptians consume too much meat which undermines to their health. Over consumption of meat is really harmful because meat has an abundant amount of Cholesterol, a chemical that is linked to cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure. Cooking red meat produces cancer causing compounds that causes colon and breast, also high Iron content and nitrosamines encourage cancer cells to grow faster. Large amounts of proteins put an extra load on the liver for processing them and on the kidneys.
Overconsumption of meat also is a waste of resources, because it takes 4.8 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat. This grain wasted in feeding cattle could have been used to feed three times more people than the number fed by the cattle. Our country is a desert with a projected water shortage; it would be wiser to plant wheat and crops to feed more people. It would be also cheaper to import more grain and vegetables than livestock.
Over consumption of meat destroys the environment, cattle waste is a significant polluter to our water streams. The energy needed to produce one pound of beef is enough to drive for 20 miles, there is energy wasted on growing grain for cattle, energy wasted in breeding cattle and energy wasted on getting rid of cattle waste.
Finally, remember that an increase in meat prices may not be a curse. Take it as a chance to improve your health by adding variety to your diet, save the environment and also some money.
However, Egyptians consume too much meat which undermines to their health. Over consumption of meat is really harmful because meat has an abundant amount of Cholesterol, a chemical that is linked to cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure. Cooking red meat produces cancer causing compounds that causes colon and breast, also high Iron content and nitrosamines encourage cancer cells to grow faster. Large amounts of proteins put an extra load on the liver for processing them and on the kidneys.
Overconsumption of meat also is a waste of resources, because it takes 4.8 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat. This grain wasted in feeding cattle could have been used to feed three times more people than the number fed by the cattle. Our country is a desert with a projected water shortage; it would be wiser to plant wheat and crops to feed more people. It would be also cheaper to import more grain and vegetables than livestock.
Over consumption of meat destroys the environment, cattle waste is a significant polluter to our water streams. The energy needed to produce one pound of beef is enough to drive for 20 miles, there is energy wasted on growing grain for cattle, energy wasted in breeding cattle and energy wasted on getting rid of cattle waste.
Finally, remember that an increase in meat prices may not be a curse. Take it as a chance to improve your health by adding variety to your diet, save the environment and also some money.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Easter Sunday
Today is Easter Sunday, a holiday for forgiveness. Today Jesus Christ has forgiven his enemies after all the pain and anguish they caused him. Prophet Mohamed has also forgiven the Arabs of Mecca in the public after all the wars between them, he declared “what do you think I will do with you, you are all free”. God has forgiven the Children of Israel every time they have repented for their sins. In Buddhism, the feelings of hatred and ill-will leave a lasting effect on our mind karma and the teachings of Buddha have encouraged the wise to forgive others. In Hinduism, Vidra has said that people misunderstand the forgiver as being weak and Lord Krishna has said in the Gita that forgiveness is one of the characteristic of the Devine state. Even until today, God has not given up on humanity with all their sins and greed.
Forgiveness not only means letting go of the grudges that one has against others, but also learning to pardon him/herself for the shortcomings. Forgiveness helps to free oneself from the prison of the past by letting go of bad feeling of haltered envy, thus letting one live in the present. We all have our disappointments at others and our selves. By realizing that no one is perfect including me, I became a more accepting human being and I can let go of the bad feelings. Forgiveness frees the forgiver to live on and heal his wounds.
Revenge never helps anyone, It never moves time back to undo the damage and it never heals the wounds. As Gandhi said “eye for an eye makes someone blind”. I advise, to avoid living in the darkness as a monster waiting for revenge or like Shylock waiting for his pound of flesh. I want you to live and enjoy life.
However, it is also important to learn from the lessons of the past, thus it is important to forgive your enemies, but keep your guard so that you are not hurt again. It is also important to uphold justice in the society by punishing criminals, thus deterring future crime. This means that one has to still be careful and learn from the past mistakes, a fool always repeats his/her mistakes. However, one cannot be a prisoner of the past and making it a hurdle towards one progress.
I realize that this is much easier in theory than practice; one cannot take a forgiveness pill. It takes will power to forgive and it takes courage to defeat the ghosts of the past. Start now by writing on a piece of paper all the situations that people have wronged you with or when you were disappointed by yourself , say out loud that you pledge to forgive everyone including yourself and then set it on fire, you will feel great trust me.
Forgiveness not only means letting go of the grudges that one has against others, but also learning to pardon him/herself for the shortcomings. Forgiveness helps to free oneself from the prison of the past by letting go of bad feeling of haltered envy, thus letting one live in the present. We all have our disappointments at others and our selves. By realizing that no one is perfect including me, I became a more accepting human being and I can let go of the bad feelings. Forgiveness frees the forgiver to live on and heal his wounds.
Revenge never helps anyone, It never moves time back to undo the damage and it never heals the wounds. As Gandhi said “eye for an eye makes someone blind”. I advise, to avoid living in the darkness as a monster waiting for revenge or like Shylock waiting for his pound of flesh. I want you to live and enjoy life.
However, it is also important to learn from the lessons of the past, thus it is important to forgive your enemies, but keep your guard so that you are not hurt again. It is also important to uphold justice in the society by punishing criminals, thus deterring future crime. This means that one has to still be careful and learn from the past mistakes, a fool always repeats his/her mistakes. However, one cannot be a prisoner of the past and making it a hurdle towards one progress.
I realize that this is much easier in theory than practice; one cannot take a forgiveness pill. It takes will power to forgive and it takes courage to defeat the ghosts of the past. Start now by writing on a piece of paper all the situations that people have wronged you with or when you were disappointed by yourself , say out loud that you pledge to forgive everyone including yourself and then set it on fire, you will feel great trust me.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Muslims Today
Today is the birthday of our prophet Mohamed (peace be upon him), although he was deceased more than 1400 years ago his legacy is still with us today. Whether, you believe he was a great man or disagreed with his vision, his teachings are followed by around 1.5 billion people that live all around the world. The early Muslim philosophers live Averroes were able to preserve the Greek and Roman philosophies. Muslim mathematicians translated the decimal system from Sanskrit , thus benefiting humanity. Hassan Ibin al Haytham were one of the few scientist who focused and refined empirical research.
Currently, the Muslim is in a predicament economically, politically and socially. Muslim countries are the poorest the world. Politically 50% of the world refugees are Muslims. If one looks at the Arab world as a microcosm of the Muslim world, there are 53 news papers to 1000 Arab citizens showing the lowest information media to population ratios. There are 4.4 books translated to a million Arab, furthermore Arabs spend less than 0.2% of their gross national production on research and development. There are also 371 Arab scientists per million. It seems that we Muslims have forgotten the first command that God have ordered him prophet, “read”. Islam has encouraged people to analyze and think, yet governments have abused the religion by aligning themselves with orthodox theologians than encourage the status-quo helping to maintain government control and stifle dissent.
The problem is much more complicated than it looks. Creating a knowledge society that encourages free thought requires freedom of expression so that those thinkers do not fear prosecution and creates a meaningful exchange of ideas. Good education systems that focuses on scientific research and develop the critical thinking of students, is required. A free media that is accessible so that scholars can exchange information and also interact with the public is important.
Many would claim that Muslims do not have the resources to build a knowledge based society. However, I believe that ignorance is the reason behind our poverty. Muslims waste most of their resources on consumption and importation of technology rather than innovation. Most governments and companies attempts to focus on industrial productions were based on imported factories, these factories eventually became outdated and new machines had to be re-imported. Hence, technology importation led to a spiral of technology importation and further waste in resources.
Currently, the Muslim is in a predicament economically, politically and socially. Muslim countries are the poorest the world. Politically 50% of the world refugees are Muslims. If one looks at the Arab world as a microcosm of the Muslim world, there are 53 news papers to 1000 Arab citizens showing the lowest information media to population ratios. There are 4.4 books translated to a million Arab, furthermore Arabs spend less than 0.2% of their gross national production on research and development. There are also 371 Arab scientists per million. It seems that we Muslims have forgotten the first command that God have ordered him prophet, “read”. Islam has encouraged people to analyze and think, yet governments have abused the religion by aligning themselves with orthodox theologians than encourage the status-quo helping to maintain government control and stifle dissent.
The problem is much more complicated than it looks. Creating a knowledge society that encourages free thought requires freedom of expression so that those thinkers do not fear prosecution and creates a meaningful exchange of ideas. Good education systems that focuses on scientific research and develop the critical thinking of students, is required. A free media that is accessible so that scholars can exchange information and also interact with the public is important.
Many would claim that Muslims do not have the resources to build a knowledge based society. However, I believe that ignorance is the reason behind our poverty. Muslims waste most of their resources on consumption and importation of technology rather than innovation. Most governments and companies attempts to focus on industrial productions were based on imported factories, these factories eventually became outdated and new machines had to be re-imported. Hence, technology importation led to a spiral of technology importation and further waste in resources.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The Dragon's problems
Many believe that democracy and freedom play no role in the building of nations, some even point to the Chinese model of developments as an example. China is communist elite have been holding to power, while at the same time its economy is leaping by giant strides.
However, I believe that many analysts are mistaken in their assessment of China's growth. The whole country's economy is based on manufacturing products designed in the United States and Europe due to its low labor costs. China is artificially making it products cheaper by devaluation of its currency. Without freedom, there is little room for innovation and the creation of the knowledge based economy. Free minds are active creating solutions and are more dynamic in facing problem.
Many assume that the situation in China is static, but one has to look closely around to see that China is becoming more open to the world and gradually allowing political freedom. There are set back and government backlash against the oppositions. There are also ethnic problems between the Chinese Hans and the Igur Muslim minority, but the government now is acting in more restrained fashion in comparison on how they dealt with the student protests in Tiananmen Square.
Government officials are worried about political stability so that China could lure investors. Nevertheless, what happens in China does not stay in China, due to the development of digital media technology, a video can be shot discreetly from one's mobile camera sent around the world using the Internet and via multi-media messages. Although, the government has tried its best to sensor search engines and ban websites, many are able to overcome these filters. For example a Chinese student invented software called Free-gate to bypass the governments ban on Wikipedia.
Accountability is one of the cornerstones of democracy, ideally government officials are held accountable in front of the people that are elect them. For a country to develop, government officials need to be proactive agents of the people, taking their best interest at heart, balancing the opportunity costs of development with the environmental impact. However, the Chinese officials care only about economic growth, thus making China one of the world largest polluters. This is going to have a massive impact on human health and will also replete the natural resources for the next generations of Chinese.
Today in an increasingly competitive economies, the situations change very fast decision makers at the local level need to act fast in an ever more complex world. In this complex world, to remain competitive governments have to become more agile and less decentralized regional and local government officials will have to play more key roles in the country future. Yet,it is important for Beijing to watch its path and choose for itself
However, I believe that many analysts are mistaken in their assessment of China's growth. The whole country's economy is based on manufacturing products designed in the United States and Europe due to its low labor costs. China is artificially making it products cheaper by devaluation of its currency. Without freedom, there is little room for innovation and the creation of the knowledge based economy. Free minds are active creating solutions and are more dynamic in facing problem.
Many assume that the situation in China is static, but one has to look closely around to see that China is becoming more open to the world and gradually allowing political freedom. There are set back and government backlash against the oppositions. There are also ethnic problems between the Chinese Hans and the Igur Muslim minority, but the government now is acting in more restrained fashion in comparison on how they dealt with the student protests in Tiananmen Square.
Government officials are worried about political stability so that China could lure investors. Nevertheless, what happens in China does not stay in China, due to the development of digital media technology, a video can be shot discreetly from one's mobile camera sent around the world using the Internet and via multi-media messages. Although, the government has tried its best to sensor search engines and ban websites, many are able to overcome these filters. For example a Chinese student invented software called Free-gate to bypass the governments ban on Wikipedia.
Accountability is one of the cornerstones of democracy, ideally government officials are held accountable in front of the people that are elect them. For a country to develop, government officials need to be proactive agents of the people, taking their best interest at heart, balancing the opportunity costs of development with the environmental impact. However, the Chinese officials care only about economic growth, thus making China one of the world largest polluters. This is going to have a massive impact on human health and will also replete the natural resources for the next generations of Chinese.
Today in an increasingly competitive economies, the situations change very fast decision makers at the local level need to act fast in an ever more complex world. In this complex world, to remain competitive governments have to become more agile and less decentralized regional and local government officials will have to play more key roles in the country future. Yet,it is important for Beijing to watch its path and choose for itself
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