George Bush: His 'rural' roots provide a lesson to Kuwaitis.
George
Bush is a 'Texas Bedouin' (Al Seyassah, Kuwait)
"We
offer the example of the American President from Texas within the context of
our discussion of Kuwait's national unity ... The fact that Bush possesses the
cultural legacy of the 'countryside' hasn't hindered him from reaching the
White House's threshold."
We
have discussed more than once the issue of "national unity" in
Kuwait, and have stressed the importance of preserving and strengthening the
"sense of patriotism" of the ordinary Kuwaiti citizen by providing a cultural
mold, "in which citizens share common social and intellectual
inclinations." And in this endeavor, we have called on intellectuals to
debate not only traditional models of "national unity," but to focus
on the social and cultural diversity within our own society. While the average
Kuwaiti possesses a general cultural and doctrinal heritage, these aren't
necessarily identical to those of their fellow citizens."
In
other words, our "public assumptions" about national unity should allow
for the following: Any normal human society must contain diversity and
disparity in relationships, in its social and cultural past, in the way members
of society exercise these relations, and in the way they address differences -
because what is today found in Kuwait's towns and cities is not a unitary,
all-inclusive, formulaic Kuwaiti culture, but rather a "cultural and
social mosaic" which could occupy a comprehensive wall chart.
Take
for example our friend, American society, and how it contains so many
especially active ethnicities and cultures, all of which act within and
generally accept America's social environment. And they manage to do so with
all of its racial differences, diversity and disparities between cultures, social
orientations and religious and sectarian groups.
American
President George Bush, for example, is a "country boy" from Texas, or
as one might say in Kuwaiti terms, "Bush is a Texas Bedouin."
However, we have yet to hear any member of Congress criticize his performance
or his policies based solely on the fact that he comes from rural America,
which is what one would expect in human societies that endeavor to become
sophisticated, civilized and cultured, and which reject stereotypes in favor of
inclusiveness.
[Editor's
Note: While it's true that George W. Bush has carefully cultivated his Texas
image, it's also true that he has had more than a little exposure to
northeastern high society, having been born in New Haven, Connecticut and
graduated from Yale ].
We offer the example of the American President from Texas within
the context of our discussion of Kuwait's national unity, in order to deliver
the following idea: In any normal human society, social and cultural
differences between members of that society are considered a
"virtue," not a "sin" that must be eradicated. The fact
that Bush possesses the cultural legacy of the "countryside" hasn't
hindered him from reaching the White House's threshold. The American President
is still a U.S. citizen that cherishes his local Texan culture even as he
continues to adhere to the wider American culture.
National
unity in Kuwait is a rich subject, but in the end it's a matter of developing
an efficient national mechanism about how this phenomenon is evolving on a
daily basis, since we believe that national unity requires a higher degree of
openness and positive, constructive debate based on the need to apply social
justice.
The
stakes of this will ultimately center on the degree that we can accept, as
individuals, the differences and diversity of the people, and our faith in the
principle of equality of opportunity for all of the citizens of Kuwait. And the
beneficiary of this debate, my dear readers, is Kuwait itself, the country of
your fathers and forefathers, the country of my father and my sons, your
country and my country, the country of us all.
George W. Bush: The fact that he isn't a northeastern sophistocate gives some Kuwaitis hope that the less accepted segments of Kuwait society, such as bedouins, will one day be free of hindrances to advancement.
A Kuwaiti bedouin: Still living at the margins of Kuwaiti society.
A map of Kuwait and its environs: The country has a population of about 3 million.