A couple of muses of the day

Muse 1:

Propaganda very often replaces information in the news media.
Politicians very often use propaganda for their personal benefit.
Question: Does the media serve the masses or the politicians????

Muse 2: 

When an education system fails to fulfill its role, self-appointed preachers and teachers will sprout like mushrooms!

Subjectivity and Objectivity

My definition of subjectivity and objectivity:

When subjectivity replaces objectivity in analyzing matters one should expect a subjective result to which an objection will invariably be refuted!!

When objectivity replaces subjectivity in analyzing matters one should expect an objective result to which an objection will be subject to further objective analysis!!

In politics, unlike science, it is apparent that that subjectivity rules supreme!!

Future Attire!

Based on lore that was passed on to us over the past several millenniums, the earliest human attire consisted of plant leaves (and I leave [excuse the pun] the details to your imagination!).
As the human race continued to evolve, the element of style and comfort in the clothing evolved too. Evolution of clothing from primitive fibers and plant leaves to today's synthetic fibers (which I don't endorse) reflects a multitude of innovations and inventions.
Heaven only knows what will happen in the next 100 years, let alone in one millennium or more from now, especially with the resources that are being rapidly depleted.
Perhaps plant leaves will become en vogue again!

Ghazal/Gazelle and Bias

In the Arabic language the use of the word "ghazal", meaning gazelle, is used as a simile for beauty (amongst other things).
Quoting a common Arabic proverb: Elqerd fi 3ein ommoh ghazal, meaning: In his mother's eye, a monkey appears to be a gazelle.
The equivalent English language proverb is: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
There are more common things in different cultures than people care to believe!
There are also differences between cultures that, if mutually accommodated and respected, the world understanding would be so much better!

Egyptian Reform Process

To my dear Friends and Family in Egypt:

It is important to approach the next phase of Egypt's presidential selection process with interest and care.

It is important to review the agendas proposed by the different candidates and their political/professional/social stance and achievements.

It is, however, more important to cast your votes with the notion that the next president will NOT be allowed to remain in office for more than 2 terms, and that what really matters is the dire need for reform for an effective socioeconomic/sociopolitical system and its institutions.

Most important, remember that, whereas criticism of the individual candidates is a natural and healthy reaction, your individual and constructive contribution to the reform process is the only path for a better future.

Hani Badawi

March 18, 2012

Further reflections on life

Our reflection of the past, present and to a lesser degree our future, becomes more acute as we get older (at least for me!).  In time, memories become somewhat blurry, very much like an "out of focus" image in the view-finder of a camera.  However, the analogy almost stops here!  

Whereas bringing the image into focus in a camera is a simple physical process of either adjusting the lens position or moving closer or farther from the object of interest, bringing memories into focus is a very complicated matter. 

Without delving much into the complexity of the human brain (of which I only have a little knowledge), there are a few things in life that help us sharpen our memories.  To name a few: Photos and videos from the past, old letters, diaries (if kept), chats with old friends, revisiting places of the past. These aids may (or will) help in sharpening our memories of events, but, what about old feelings and how they inter-mesh with our present and possibly future feelings? 

This leads us to a yet more complex field of view for which sharpening our memories would necessitate the help of a psychiatrist or psychologist.

My message from the foregoing comments is: One's life can be complicated by the events we encounter in our journey of existence. Whereas events cannot be reversed, feelings can, to some degree, be manipulated to either make one's life easier or more difficult. 

A "flash" of the camera analogy comes back to me one more time: In the camera world a lens shutter adjusts the exposure level of an image.  In the human world, peace with others is determined by the level of peace with oneself!

Hani Badawi
March 19, 2012

Coin or Cube?

Are the 2 extreme slogans in Egypt, namely: 
كرهناكى يا ثوره and يسقط حكم العسكر 
two sides of the same coin? Or are they twos sides of a cube? Should people toss a coin or throw a die for determining where things need to be heading for the welfare of the masses and the nation?

The meters in the nation's proverbial dashboard are indicating numerous alerts, and yet the proponents of the above 2 extreme factions are selectively looking at what they prefer to follow. Would you be safe driving a car where you only pay attention to one meter on the dashboard and ignoring the rest?

Coin or cube? A nation's future should not be subjected to a gambling/probability approach.

Hani Badawi
February 4, 2012