SEGHAYER In 1994, when the US hosted the World Cup, I happened to watch an American TV channel that aired an interview with one of the US national league players. Toward the end of that interview, the player made the following statement: “We are the best in everything except soccer and, as such we need to work hard to excel in it too.” In retrospect, I did not fully appreciate that statement then. Here I am now in my lovely country and I hear the same statement almost daily, and I do not appreciate it either. A large number of Saudi citizens (authorities mostly) tend to use the phrases “we are the best” or “we have the best of this or that” whenever they are asked to comment on wider aspects of our processes and accomplishments including facilities, projects, infrastructure, hospitals, universities, etc. Whenever I hear such a statement, I immediately feel either outrage or pity for the person who made such claims. My rage is due to the fact that the official who made such a claim is not respecting me and millions of others out there because that person is not telling the whole truth about things in the Kingdom. Yes, he is right that we have good infrastructure, good universities, hospitals, airports, and the list goes on, but the fact is that they are not the best and we have a long way to go before they indeed are. At the same time, I feel sorry for the average citizen who mimics unconsciously the officials' statements and is not aware that there are many nations which are far better off than we are. My continuous contemplations about hearing or reading such statements lead me to immediate and more thoughtful reactions. The immediate rejoinder is questioning whoever made such an assertion: what makes him or her say or believe that, and what is the basis for such contentions? The more thoughtful reactions lead me to argue that in the first place, a person needs to take several factors into consideration when assessing whether we are the best in a particular aspect of life. I have two main requests for these persons making such daring statements. The first is that they need to bear in mind a number of criteria, including political, social, economic, and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transportation, and other public services. The other request is whoever believes we are the best should just consider judging us again vis-a-vis the annual worldwide quality of life survey conducted yearly by the United Nations. Employing such measures can determine whether we are reaching significant levels across wider aspects such as educational achievements as well as the health and wealth of each citizen. The records show that for the sixth year in a row, Canada ranks first among 175 countries in the UN quality of life survey. To be more specific and more practical, we need to consider employing the Human Development Index (HDI), which assists us in examining our health achievements, education, and wealth of each citizen by measuring the following: life expectancy, educational achievement, adult literacy plus combined primary, secondary and tertiary enrollment, standard of living and real GDP per capita based on PPP exchange rates. Other features that we need to check when making such claims include personal safety, security, internal stability, and street crime and burglary rates. Additionally, law enforcement, censorship, and limitations on personal freedom, good international relations, and sustainable economic growth. The aforementioned factors become critical to overall quality of life standards in countries across the world. It is, therefore, imperative that for any claim that we are the best, we must offer figures based on the foregoing criteria to show that we are indeed the best, or among the best nations, in the world. In my view, simply believing that we are superior makes us feel we do not need to try to improve the quality of our lives because we have already reached the top. It also makes us feel that we have no shortcomings and that no areas need further improvements and developments. Furthermore, it makes us narrow-minded and, I would argue, also arrogant, so that we do not try to learn from others and benefit from the rapid developments taking place all over the world. (The writer is a Saudi academic who can be reached at [email protected]) __
