Wednesday, February 12, 2025 | Sha'ban 12, 1446 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Big things look after themselves...

The emergence of financial and political corruption as concerns perhaps demonstrate that the silent majority is, at last, finding its voice
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Frenchman Didier Truchot has identified that, “In our world of rapid change, the need for reliable information to make confident decisions has never been greater,” so his company sets out to be one that mine’s the statistical information, then uses science, technology and intellect to produce “faster, smarter and bolder information.”


So, according to Truchot’s IPSOS, what worries us today? Coronavirus, and other viruses are still the key concern for most of us, whether it is what has gone before and the societal impacts of that challenging two years, it is probably that our vulnerability in the face of unseen viral threats akin to hundreds of ‘zombie’ movies, that still frightens us most today, three years on.


Unemployment is a perpetual presence in the ‘top ten’ of global concerns, and probably feeds into the third most pressing challenge for us all, which is the fight against poverty and social inequality. These three elements have, throughout history dethroned Kings, Emperors, Presidents and Prime Ministers, a la the French and Russian Revolutions. The great South African statesman, Nelson Mandela, once said, “As long as poverty, injustice, and social inequality persist in our world, none of us can rest.”


The emergence of financial and political corruption as concerns perhaps demonstrate that the silent majority is, at last, finding its voice. Banks and financial institutions police themselves very loosely, while political corruption is raging out of control. Since the Marcos scandal in the Philippines, when Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos (the lady with all the shoes) were found to have benefitted to the tune of $10 billion during the mid-1980’s, far from diminishing political corruption, it’s become almost legitimate.


Crime, drugs and violence will always concern us, and especially when we are close to violence. Crime though is an interesting one, as many ‘crims’ appear convinced they are ‘Robin Hoods,’ and no different to politicians. Drugs are a hard topic, because too many people are making money out of them, so like slavery a couple of hundred years ago, there will always be those who don’t care, turn a blind eye, or have nothing to do with them.


Healthcare concerns, the quality and costs of education for our children, can be lumped together and are possibly the greatest of all ‘real’ concerns for most families. Private healthcare and education costs continue to rocket almost out of control, while governmental education and healthcare are pressured by diminished funding, inexpert management, and low morale among frontline staff, who function on compassion and enthusiasm, though both are wearing really thin.


Inflation and taxation hurt the common people, not because of what they pay, but because of what the wealthy... do not! The wealthy can set off their day-to-day expenses, cars, homes, education, healthcare, dining out, holidays... everything against their companies and trusts, effectively paying nothing, or very little. Equality is a fable in terms of earnings and taxation. The rich get richer, and the children of the poor have difficulty getting access to affordable homes.


Climate change and the environment rank around twentieth in terms of importance to us, and I can hear the ‘greenies’ howling, but while important to us all, and as civilisations we need to be aware and ‘doing’ rather than talking, the reality is that our kids need feeding now, need schools now, need healthcare now, need heroes, now!


Immigration likewise concerns us even less according to IPSOS, but not on humanitarian grounds, more on the profile, the morality, the need, of those who arrive here, as a lurking suspicion seeps through that the best characters, and those in genuine danger, stay behind to advocate for change.


The reality is that as much as our world changes, it stays the same as nations, societies, communities, families and individuals, we all have our own needs, that change by the year, the month, and the day. We need to be fed, to be safe, to love and be loved, to be respected, and to become all that we have the potential to be... Its shape, its labels matter little to most of us, as we just focus on doing the little things well, and the big things... well, you know.


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