I don't have mixed feelings toward 2011. It was by all means
the year, one which we can look at from the shortsighted vantage point of the here and now or from afar to perceive its magnitude from the acquired insight of a future in the making.
No, I have no doubts. I know exactly how I feel about it as it has been the epochal year of my life although certainly the most agonizing for all of us. I wouldn't be claiming prescience if I had previously predicted its inevitability. Although it took me, like it did everybody else, by surprise I have been waiting for it to happen for as long as I can remember.
The inflicted pain of 2011 will linger on for a few more years, of that I'm certain. Yet I'm optimistic that out of calamity my and other children will lead more dignified lives. They will dig within their own bags of memories to compare the before and after. They will bask in precious liberty earned with the limb and blood of their brethren who made, and still are making, the ultimate sacrifice.
Many compatriots are against subversive change. They chose to bury their heads in the sand or worse to vehemently oppose the natural human aspiration for freedom for several reasons, not the least of which is the preservation of their privileged economic position and/or chaperoned social status. They were of the opinion that
if it ain't broke don't fix it and thus embarked on a blind mission of psychotic denial and base justification for atrocities and crimes perpetrated and committed. Needless to say that their defeatist outlook is only helping in delaying the fateful outcome but it won't put a dent on its certainty. Over decades of subservience they've learned to tip the scale in their favor exactly like all parasites in the animal and plant kingdoms. They were able to make a good living within a corrupt socioeconomic system, where they evaded fair competition and hard work. They'd rather live in advantaged voluntary servitude instead of being free among equals.
In the spirit of the season, however, let me wrap up my last post of the year by being as good-hearted as I have it in me and by offering my best wishes for 2012. May peace fill the lives of every human, animal and plant. May the new year bring honor to those who earned it. As for freedom, I'll simply quote Abraham Lincoln to express my sincere sentiments: "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves". Happy 2012 everyone :-)
10 comments:
I share your sentiments for peace and freedom in 2012, Abufares. I wish the best to you, and to everyone. Happy New Year.
Let there be peace and freedom in 2012. Happy 2012 to you and your family! Let us take each others hand and shout out to the world, FREEDOM FOR ALL.
@Isobel
Every year, I bottle the old one, cap it tightly and throw it to the sea. No regrets in them bottles, just plenty of hope that the currents might bring one within reach of another human.
She'll take the scroll out and read it aloud, above the cries of the crashing waves. "He was a good man", she would silently say and feels as if she had known me for all of her life.
I've left a good part of me in every bottle.
Happy New Year dearest friend. May all your dreams come true :-)
@Chet
Amen to that!
Food and water to eat and drink. Air and freedom to breathe and live!
You inspire me to blog once again. Peace to you in 2012.
Just yesterday I was reflecting about how some so unexpected events have happened before our eyes in just 365 days. This year made me think of 1991, another year of so fast changes. Although I might be more mature now, it's something that still amazes me. I think it will always amaze me.
Happy 2012, my friend!
As 2011 comes to a close, and another tightly capped bottle gets propelled to the sea... I want to wish you, your loved ones, your Syrian brothers and sisters and the whole world an intoxicating PEACE that could never ebb.
Happy 2012 my friend.
On a different note, it is no secret that visiting your blog has never been less than delightful. Especially, when looking at a succession of 3 delights. The ass, Arak and Shanklish under VINTAGE ABUFARES on the right. :-)
@Shannon
It will be great to see you blogging again. A new year's resolution, perhaps?
Many thanks for your support.
@Gabriela
Hola! 2011 was a bag full of magic tricks. Despite what a significant and timid part of the world population thinks I look at it as a gate for the future rather than as an end result.
The French Revolution lasted for 11 years while the American civil war for 4 years.
What 1789 was to the French and 1861 to the Americans, 2011 is to the Arab World. The Arab Spring is not going to blossom overnight. This is by the way what pessimists and defeatists use in their cowardly arguments. "Look at Libya", they would yelp, or something like, "Egypt was better off before this damned revolution". Their words only show how mentally myopic and historically illiterate they are.
Happy New Year my dear friend :-)
@Joseph
Thank you for your wishes. Thank you for being a friend.
I hope your new year is as delightful as a glass of Arak, as delectable as Shanklish and as wonderfully beautiful as this great piece of ass :-)
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