The Cupcake Society

Everyone can see that during the last year or so Bahrain have had so many cupcake shops that you might think they are mushrooms that spring out after a heavy rain. Of course this new, and abused idea, is exclusively one that is associated with Bahraini women and girls. It seems that most girls are experts in photography, fashion design and art. Not that it's a bad thing, its just a bit overdoing it when all of a sudden they become experts in those fields. Before I get scratched to death by hundreds of girls, I have to say that this post is NOT about girls interest these days. This post is rather about how our Bahraini society has taken the shape of those yummy cupcakes, and how as delicious as it seems, it is not a healthy society if you think more about it.

Imagine holding a cupcake, or better yet, get a cupcake in your hand while you read this post, but do resist the urge to eat it until the end. The basic shape of this cupcake is basically a lovely designed top, filled with the sweetest ingredients, and a plain sweet bottom. What attracts you most? The top. What part tastes the best? The top. For one I personally enjoy only the top part and tend to discard with the bottom part, simply because it's not as tasty as the top part. Now imagine Bahraini society as having the same shape, same substance and same structure. It's only the top part of society that is attractive, luxurious and all round delicious. But what about the rest? Just like the bottom of the cupcake, it's hidden, plain and sometimes discarded. Yet if you think about it, the bottom part is the one holding the top part up to be seen. By the rest of the world. Not very fair for the bottom part of the cupcake, or society for that matter.

Bahrain as a society have transformed several times during the last century, these changes have not all been bad or have been good as well. But nevertheless it is only the recent changes that have provided the "top" with more sugar and more glamour to be sprinkled on. And all the time the "bottom" looks on as the top becomes prettier and tastier than it can ever be. This wasted, hidden part can have such great potential as to achieve greater heights for all the cupcake, if only it had a fair shot. It doesn't mean that it will trade places with the top part, just a chance at being as sweet and beautiful as its top brother. The fear is that the top is now too vain to allow for any to take its place or to have a chance at showing its potential for fear of being discarded and left uneaten. This fear have transformed into less chances for anyone to achieve or for anyone to improve his or her position in the cupcake system. This stifling of creativity and youth can have grave consequences if society does not try and fight this cupcake mentality and introduce more opportunity to any who is willing to roll up his sleeves to think and work. Just remember that if the dinosaurs started thinking they wouldn't be museum exhibitions.

Now imagine if the cupcake you are holding is all sweet and pretty just as the top. Wouldn't that be amazing? It's impossible but very nice to imagine. But what can be achieved is to take a spreading knife and spread all this yummy cream all over the cupcake so that you can equally enjoy it all, without thriving any leftovers or any waste, except the paper wrap that was standing in the way of enjoying the rest of the cupcake. It would definitely not be a cupcake anymore, and be more like a chocolate bar that is lovely all over, from start to end. That would be a better choice than the cupcake you are holding right now, the one you will eat and enjoy but think differently of from now on. Did I just make you feel like eating something sweet? Yeah me two.

Learning from Beauty

The Arabian Peninsula is known for something that is more valuable than its rich oil fields, more elegant than its noblest lady, more sensitive than the delicate butterflies and a lot smarter than many who call themselves decent human beings. It’s the Arabian horse. This famous creature have captivated all who lay their eyes upon it and cast an eternal spell that will keep them bound to it. If we should look more and appreciate it we can learn quite a lot of how a simple beast of burden turned into an obsession of millions.

The graceful Arabian horse strides elegantly in between its ugly cousins. It raises its head always even when in battle, announcing to all that it is here and it would never bow down to any other. Its eyes scream with the most wondrous poetry that can sooth even the most savage beasts all while declaring its superior pedigree. Its strong bone structure and amazing endurance warns of those that will take beauty as a sign of weakness. Its sensitive nature is kin only to the most eloquent of poets that rise over the average sensitivity of human beings. Yet we seem to not notice that we can learn quite a lot from this creature, and this happens when ignorance is a state of mind not a statistic on a table.

Something to be noticed about the modern Arab is the lack of desire to learn and the inability to adapt rather than copy our western opposites. This fact has left us from being the center of the universe at one period of history into sadly a rock that orbits a bright sun. At first it was because of too much pride and the foolish sense of superiority, and then it developed into a feeling of despair and a dreadful inferiority. Yet we can still pick up the paces and shine again to become the lighthouse that once attracted the eyes of all of those that are beyond our borders. Just like the old myth of the phoenix that rose again from the ashes we can reclaim our rightful throne. It needs education, development and more importantly an open eye and mind.

The Arabian horse is but one treasure that we seem to have ignored in the pursuit of copying those who we believe to be superior to us in order to become superior like them. There are many other gems of our Islamic civilization that sadly have become objects to hide out of shame. As George Orwell famously says “He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past controls the future” can only be the way forward if we are looking for a brighter future for our future generations. If I’m wrong then I’m open for debate, because what I see is definitely is not right.

A Nation Divided

A picture, that’s all what I needed to force my hand to start typing this post. A picture on a website that was supposedly showing how thousands of so called “revolutionaries” are protesting in their cars. What it really showed was just a simple traffic jam on one of the roads to Manama. This is of course a blatant lie but what is sad about it that people willingly believed it as an actual fact. It’s been seven months since the start of the protests here in Bahrain, and the story is still to be continued. Only question is until when?

The Arab Spring came and turned to an Arab Winter and still we see Libya is still on hold until they catch or kill Gaddafi, Syria loses its sons daily and Yemen is looking more and more like the old Yemen of the civil war era. But what about Bahrain. You see if you really understand Bahrain then you would realize that there was never a spring, it was only a continuation of something that never ended. People who understand Bahrain know that there are three types of people; people who do not want the status quo and are constantly looking for a change in their direction, then there are those who are more than happy with the status quo, and then there are those who are just trying to live. And those of the last category are what matter the most. The term “Arab Spring” actually comes from the “Springtime of Nations” that was referring to the liberal movements of nineteenth century Europe. So can you explain to me again why the radical liberal governments of both Tunisia and Egypt were toppled?! Okay so it’s a movement towards more democracy, this I can totally relate to. But what if this democracy brings in radical elements of socialists or any other extremist elements? Makes you think doesn’t it?

I was debating with a lawyer a while back about how corruption, profiteering and backwardness didn’t help our government, but in having this debate we were actually believing that there is always a better way, and this is what constructive thinking is all about. We did not refer at all to the so called “revolutionaries” simply because we knew that willingly or unwillingly those that are against the establishment have divided this nation, and you should only look up the map towards Iraq to see how dividing a nation into Shiaa and Sunni would result into. Just like a separated couple, the children are the ones who bear the consequences.

On a final note, I do apologize for my rusty writing; I do also apologize for disappearing from this blog.