The remarks we heard yesterday were dangerous, but not
new. Many have warned that we would
reach this stage, but the warnings were not heeded, and even the whistleblowers
were considered the enemy.
اضافة اعلان
When the Senate speaker goes public to tell representatives
of civil society organizations that there is division in Jordanian society and
that there are certain parties that try to sow sedition, it’s not news, because
the division he talked about has been noted and warnings issued regarding its
social aspect, economic classism, mistrust between the state and the public,
the spread of injustice, people’s aligning along sub-identities, which replaced
the collective identity, and the debate over justice, whether it exists or not,
in the first place.
Looking into this diagnosis by the Senate president, we
raise several questions about the causes that drove us to this situation,
which, by the way, are not a secret. In fact, the only mystery is why this
division has not been addressed, and why it has been left to chance, wrapped in
apathy.
The economic dangers of division are embodied in the fact
that the middle class has been crushed, while the lower class has expanded, and
the wealthy have created their own isolated world, dealing with their own
problems. The socio-economic structures have been dismantled, so much so that
we cannot see before us a one unified
Jordanian society, even in terms of an
economic identity. This means that society will see rising hate, envy and
grudges, a lack of justice and traded accusations of corruption and
accountability, along with the side effects of these, including widespread
anger, violence, divorce, and all the negative behaviors that deepen this state
of division.
We see this division also manifested at the level of
national identity. Seeking the
protection of an influenced lawmaker or a friend in some state agency is the
key to ensuring your safety and safeguarding your interests, not the law. It is
social influence, family, origin, religion, or race that are in many cases the
means of protection, instead of the law and the legal system. We find ourselves
seeking protection under our sub-identities and seeking extra guarantees for
further support, reflecting a sense of inadequate protection from the
Constitution, laws, and institutions that regulate the lives of all Jordanians,
while quotas stipulated in election laws enhance, in a legal manner,
sub-identities and deepen division.
This does not stop here. See the division that surfaces when
any issue is opened. Then we see that Jordanians are not unified over
controversial or major issues. Every crisis that emerges unveils division of
every type and shape. While some see this as a healthy sign, as it reflects
diversity, in our case it demonstrates that we are groups that contradict each
other, with clashing interests, visions, ideas, and views over any issue, a
matter which threatens the safety of the Jordanian domestic structure, weakens
the state and renders it vulnerable to emerging dangers.
In discussing division, we cannot avoid identifying its root
causes, foremost of which are elections, municipalities, and decentralization
laws, which have divided people into small rivaling groups, overwhelmed by
conflict, even at the level of the family, whose members might be fighting for
a single House seat up for grabs. This leaves behind enmity and a lack of
justice regarding rights, because the influential would trespass on the rights
of the underdogs. For its part, the economic decline begets very harmful
effects. There is also the absence of a national enterprise where all unite,
let alone the way governments create and manage crises, which leads to further
chaos. This approach also involves submission to pressures and the requirements
of social alignments, instead of following universal law. This entire situation
generates frustration among the public and a sense of dissatisfaction that take
their turns to produce more divisions at the level of individuals, families and
politicized groups.
If there were a party that seeks to sow sedition, the
response should be purifying the environment in Jordan in a way that ensures
the failure of these attempts. The diagnosis might be important, but more
important is forging solutions.
Jordan should not be left stranded alone in the face of these problems, against which
wise people warned about years ago. Nobody cared and here we are, watching the
local community with all its complications heading towards the abyss, at a time
when we resort to same patterns of therapy, without strategic thinking that
acknowledges the risks and then suggests solutions.
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