Observations and Thoughts

I have been meaning to write for a while now, but to be honest there hasn't been much happening. Though, there have been somethings that I have been thinking about and wanted to share with you.

First, the anniversary of Sheikh Zayed's death. For those of you who do not know, Zayed was the beloved ruler and leader of the Emirati people. He is the man responsible for forming the country and having the vision to know what it needed to grow a prosper. The key word I want to address in all of that is beloved.

Last week in school we honored the anniversary of his death and I witnessed first hand how much his people love him. We may not have a lot of Emiratis at our school, but because of the each one was allowed to honor Zayed in their own way. What I found most memorable was that whether reciting a poem, prayer, or a simple message-each of them cried. Not the eyes get watery and you can tell them are upset, but actual tears rolling down their cheeks. I was taken aback, not just because I don't do well around other people crying without crying myself, but because I could really tell how much they love him and miss him. This is a man they never elected, who never campaigned, but was just such a powerful figure in his country's life. I immediately started thinking about our leaders in the US. Would we cry? Would it be just tears of general sadness at the loss of life or tears because we lost a great person? In a country where we get to choose who leads us, we do not have the same connect. At least most of us don't. What does that say about our society and systems?

Now, before my patriotic friends start getting all upset I am not saying that I don't love America, I do. However, notice that I said America. We as a country and people love an idea. A group of people and lifestyle. We love our freedom, our opportunities, etc. I know it hard to compare just drastically different cultural, but it was just something that made me wonder. Is there anyone in our history that we value that greatly?

Sure in times of tragedy, like the shooting of the Arizona congresswoman, we band together to get justice. However, as optimistic as I am in nature, even I have to admit that we are not so kind and generous all of the time. It is the unfortunately reality of life that humanity shines brightest in the darks hours. Watching these students pour out their love for Zayed gave me hope that maybe humanity is surviving more than we know.

We hear about death, destruction, bankruptcy, unemployment . . . and sure those problems are real and they are serious for a lot of people, but does that mean humanity for each other has to die in the process. I think sometimes we all forget that humanitarian acts do not need to be a large gesture. Sure the larger it is the more you will be noticed, but those that are small are noticed by those who you helped. As a teacher, I am bias and believe that most of out there, despite all the trouble, try to instill this atmosphere in our classrooms and in a lot of ways are humanitarians everyday. Like I said, I am bias, but I would like to see humanity back in our lives more. In tough times it is hard to focus on what is good, but I think that is the only way we can move forward.

I know a lot of you are probably lost in my logic, but I hope you got the message regardless. My thoughts may not be linear and logical, but they make sense to me and this was just something I was thinking about.