A tale of two families
Today and yesterday were days of social exchange. I visited George’s family on Monday and he visited mine tonight. It was nice to actually see each other outside of work and the office, and to be able to compare the lifestyles in our prospective families.
George’s father Khalid is one of the most passionately devout Muslims in the village, and therefore enjoys tremendously arguing with me about religion. We got into another heated bit of discussion which is seemingly ever so common these days.
George’s family lives in the periphery of the village and is surrounded by wildlife and solace. They are on the edge the mountain and therefore access to their house by car is precarious and difficult.
It is funny to notice how different the family lifestyle is. They do not have Television or Internet and therefore they seem to spend a lot more time interacting. I’ve throughout my experience felt that the family’s watching television or my use of the net has detracted from the amount of time I’ve had to discover new and even more wondrous things about the lifestyle and world.
Indeed, this seems to be one of the modern often ills of western society. We lose our opportunity to interact as we become absorbed in a virtual second life. Digital interaction in terms of instant messaging and texting has replaced old fashioned forms of communication. Clearly not everything about this is negative. Digital communication is responsive in a way that traditional medium and interaction can not be. There is something to be said for instant gratification. Yet, all too often technology allows us to splinter into our own private worlds. We have access to only the things we want and desire at the moment, and the rest of the world be damned. It is a strange contradiction indeed. More access to information often makes us fully ignorant about the reality of the world around us and the feelings of others.
When George visited my family, we had a big dinner which was nice and we sat around the table once again arguing about religion. Someone told me that I was a worse person because I was not religious, which truly offended me in a fundamental way. My lack of faith, I feel, has if anything made me a better and more tolerant person. It has allowed me to open my mind to the total equality of humanity. Something I feel was impossible to fully achieve before. Yet, it seems that this way of thinking is very prevalent.
I have only been an Atheist for less than a year, and already I am sick of being forced by others to try to justify my beliefs. Shouldn’t Atheism be the status quo belief of any educated person until contrary evidence is presented to make one believe. I’ve seen nothing to illustrate to me that there is a god, but the whole world seems to cry out that one does not exist. I’ve not seen a shred of proof of a supreme being or a solution that elegantly explain his seeming imperfections as a world creator, but I’ve seen a lot to support the natural evolution of the world and universe and its biological creation. There is no reason why not believing in such a complex entity that requires a complete abandonment of reason and logic should be abnormal or anything but the status quo.
I think George had a good time visiting and I certainly enjoyed visiting his family because it gave me another window of access into the lifestyle of families in Lakiya.
A word about the geography of the village and some other peripheral observations are in order. The village is set up in such a fashion that large amounts of blank space clearly remain open but under utilized. This is a fatal flaw of planning and true of all the Bedouin villages. The government simply never tried to understand how land ownership is understood among the Bedouin and therefore tries to now claim that this unused land is vacant. Yet, it is held by families who hold strong claims to it. No Bedouin would dare build on the land of the other.
The reason I mention this now, is that Salim interestingly talked to me today about how h perceives the village’s problems to stem from both government folly and Bedouin stubbornness. He views the politicians as all self interested and more concerned with aesthetics than improving schools and services. It seems unfortunate that these villages could theether so close to economic ruin at every moment, and yet not inspire some leadership that would revolutionize the system. Election seems to be based more on family loyalty than on skill, as patronage is expected and rewarded. The family continues to be the main unit of action, diluting individual opinion and choice These are fundamental problems in Bedouin society that must be addressed before their lot can be improved.
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