MovieChat Forums > Control Room (2004) Discussion > Do Arabs want to live in a successful so...

Do Arabs want to live in a successful society?

posted 16 years ago by GordonReade
4 replies | jump to latest

As I watched this movie I was hoping that Lt. Josh Rushing, or one of the other Americans, would simply ask, “What exactly is it that the Arabs want? They don’t want democracy or freedom or peace so what do they want?”

It’s hard to imagine that Arabs truly want peace, just look at the infighting between Hamas and Fatah. What’s the point of that? What good dose it do? Look at the fighting between that Sunnis and the Shias. How dose that serve the Arab cause?

I’m beginning to think that most Arabs want to live in failed societies because in a failed society you never have to explain your own failure. Remember the Al-Jazeera guy who said that he wanted his children to live in America? Well that part I could understand. What he was saying was that Arabs countries don’t provide much in the way of quality of life.

[–] Trajanc 16 years ago

Your analysis seems very simplistic. The 'Arab cause?' What's that? You are talking about a varied and complex society composed of divergent national, ethnic, religious and socio-economic groups.

What is their shared cause? Is it the aims of the Arab League? Being "(to) draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries."

If that is their 'cause' then they are practising it well. The vast majority of the membership is at peace. Egypt was readmitted after it signed a peace treaty with Israel.

There are persistent problem areas, some caused as much by outside interference as domestic factors, but they represent a minority. Terrorism in most Arab states is, as a cause of death, statistically insignificant. The crime rate, including the murder rate, is much lower in many Arab League states than in the US. These are not 'failed societies.' They practice some things I do not approve of at all but most states in the Arab League are not 'failed societies' and their citizens do not want to live in failed societies. As far as I can tell the majority of them simply want to live in a society different from that of the west.

[–] ThingyBlahBlah3 16 years ago

As I watched this movie I was hoping that Lt. Josh Rushing, or one of the other Americans, would simply ask, “What exactly is it that the Arabs want? They don’t want democracy or freedom or peace so what do they want?”

They want the same things Americans want. They want their kids to do well in school. They want to get a raise at work, or have a good time this weekend. They want their football team to win, and they want something good to watch on TV tonight. The average Arab spends no more time thinking about the state of the world than the average American does, and, just like their American counterparts, most Arabs who do think about the state of the world don't actually get around to doing anything about it.

Also, you talk about 'the Arabs' as if they're one cohesive group that thinks alike on certain issues. Well, they're not. Do you really think that 320 million people living in 22 countries can reach a consensus on anything?

I think the closest that you could get to answering your question is that most of them probably want us to leave them the hell alone.

___________________
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[–] isik3535 15 years ago

doug and picky thank you so much. For the first time on the boards i have seen such openness and understanding. Thank god for you two. Need more people like you in the united states with an openness and understanding of all cultures and religions. I'm not arab by the way. But still good to see that not every one jumps on the muslims are evil bandwagon.

[–] lightningcows 11 years ago

...I would agree. It is really the basic stuff, the common denominators, that ties everyone together - families, sports, safety, a home and some luxuries perhaps. Maybe a TV or a car. That is why the Chinese, so far, is still content with the Communist party in China, because the Party has been able to provide these basic needs.