Authority in Jordan
"I fought authority, authority always wins..." - John Cougar Mellencamp
If people actually knew of this song and what it meant, it would easily hit the TOP 40 here in Jordan, albeit stuck in the bottom third and never a serious threat to all of the hits praising Allah, Habibi, or both. At least be something people can identify with.
I suppose authority seems to be the logical choice to write about on the day after the elections. You know when Election Day is coming up in Jordan. The sides of the streets are inundated with posters depicting the candidates. Not unlike the United States, these are old, fat, almost-Caucasian men, each one of them promising everything short of the clouds in the sky.
The guys working with me, old hats at this spiel, will usually take a quick glance, shake their heads and say, "Liars, all of them." It's so old it makes 60 Minutes look like the latest European reality show. Every now and then they'll throw in a woman (veiled, of course) for good measure to convey the impression that lying, stealing, and cheating is not just a monopoly reserved for guys. One candidate actually did make my guys laugh. Referring to history in the last century with Israel and the West Bank, the candidate claimed that he would 'regain all land lost in 1967', but that he could not promise the same for 'all land lost in 1948'. Clever. I still don't know if they actually voted for him.
Besides the posters, you will find tents erected throughout the city designed to invite ordinary people to rallies, where the candidate pays for food, drink, and free gifts. It is certain that buying votes is omnipresent here, although the government has been hesitating to crack down on said practice. Coming from the west, you have to smile at the posters, the promises, and other outdated modi operandi. The last time I remember campaign posters must have been in the 70's, when my father ran for the School Board in Southern California. The promises printed on them are ridiculous, almost something you would hear voiced by a second grader running for President during some mock election. I think people should have a lying contest. I understand there is actually such a thing, somewhere in Scotland, although lawyers and politicians are routinely barred from it. How about telling the truth for a change? This is what I would love to see on these posters.
"My opponent is a liar but I am a bigger liar."
"I will rob you blind."
"Nothing like the status quo."
"Lock away your children."
"Every day I promise to look after MY best interests."
I still understand that politics are a Catch 22, that you're doomed if you tell the truth, but that the lie is still preferable in people's minds. How do you win a swimming contest without arms and legs? Do you flap your ears like mad? In the end, the best players always win, not necessarily the best people. Most Jordanians are no longer fooled by their politicians, which is more than I can say for people in the west. When it comes time to vote, there is a distant cousin or uncle in the family that will get the nod.
Speaking of authority, I have had my run-ins with them as well, the police most specifically. They are not bad people (although I am sure you will find plenty of people who beg to differ in these parts), but they are clueless sometimes. I remember once when the Canadian Ambassador to Baghdad came through our little airport and the authorities demanded to x-ray his diplomatic pouch, which he resisted as if they had just asked him to climb into the machine himself, minus his suit. Sometimes they will frisk me, sometimes they won't. Lately they have demanded to x-ray my bag upon leaving the airport (a new one).
The policemen are not a bad lot, but they are suspect. A lot of them are overweight, probably a result of sitting on their asses all day. Then again, how is that different in the west? I will say this: Their gear definitely looks silly. I saw this policeman directing traffic today with a batting helmet on. That's right, no derivations here, a batting helmet. The guy looked like he was ready to break out a bat and swing at the windshields. Then there are other traffic cops who have this World War I helmet on, coupled with this cloth cascading down the back of the helmet, presumably to prevent them from getting sunburns. I don't know, to me it looks more like Kaiser Wilhelm having produced an offspring with Jar Jar Binks. Ja, da sun doing MURDER to mesa skin.
It seems to me that people here respect authority, though not for the right reasons. As I recall from my Peace Corps days in Morocco, the locals would always tell you that a policeman was the last person you wanted to see before bedtime. How that works here I can only guess.
If people actually knew of this song and what it meant, it would easily hit the TOP 40 here in Jordan, albeit stuck in the bottom third and never a serious threat to all of the hits praising Allah, Habibi, or both. At least be something people can identify with.
I suppose authority seems to be the logical choice to write about on the day after the elections. You know when Election Day is coming up in Jordan. The sides of the streets are inundated with posters depicting the candidates. Not unlike the United States, these are old, fat, almost-Caucasian men, each one of them promising everything short of the clouds in the sky.
The guys working with me, old hats at this spiel, will usually take a quick glance, shake their heads and say, "Liars, all of them." It's so old it makes 60 Minutes look like the latest European reality show. Every now and then they'll throw in a woman (veiled, of course) for good measure to convey the impression that lying, stealing, and cheating is not just a monopoly reserved for guys. One candidate actually did make my guys laugh. Referring to history in the last century with Israel and the West Bank, the candidate claimed that he would 'regain all land lost in 1967', but that he could not promise the same for 'all land lost in 1948'. Clever. I still don't know if they actually voted for him.
Besides the posters, you will find tents erected throughout the city designed to invite ordinary people to rallies, where the candidate pays for food, drink, and free gifts. It is certain that buying votes is omnipresent here, although the government has been hesitating to crack down on said practice. Coming from the west, you have to smile at the posters, the promises, and other outdated modi operandi. The last time I remember campaign posters must have been in the 70's, when my father ran for the School Board in Southern California. The promises printed on them are ridiculous, almost something you would hear voiced by a second grader running for President during some mock election. I think people should have a lying contest. I understand there is actually such a thing, somewhere in Scotland, although lawyers and politicians are routinely barred from it. How about telling the truth for a change? This is what I would love to see on these posters.
"My opponent is a liar but I am a bigger liar."
"I will rob you blind."
"Nothing like the status quo."
"Lock away your children."
"Every day I promise to look after MY best interests."
I still understand that politics are a Catch 22, that you're doomed if you tell the truth, but that the lie is still preferable in people's minds. How do you win a swimming contest without arms and legs? Do you flap your ears like mad? In the end, the best players always win, not necessarily the best people. Most Jordanians are no longer fooled by their politicians, which is more than I can say for people in the west. When it comes time to vote, there is a distant cousin or uncle in the family that will get the nod.
Speaking of authority, I have had my run-ins with them as well, the police most specifically. They are not bad people (although I am sure you will find plenty of people who beg to differ in these parts), but they are clueless sometimes. I remember once when the Canadian Ambassador to Baghdad came through our little airport and the authorities demanded to x-ray his diplomatic pouch, which he resisted as if they had just asked him to climb into the machine himself, minus his suit. Sometimes they will frisk me, sometimes they won't. Lately they have demanded to x-ray my bag upon leaving the airport (a new one).
The policemen are not a bad lot, but they are suspect. A lot of them are overweight, probably a result of sitting on their asses all day. Then again, how is that different in the west? I will say this: Their gear definitely looks silly. I saw this policeman directing traffic today with a batting helmet on. That's right, no derivations here, a batting helmet. The guy looked like he was ready to break out a bat and swing at the windshields. Then there are other traffic cops who have this World War I helmet on, coupled with this cloth cascading down the back of the helmet, presumably to prevent them from getting sunburns. I don't know, to me it looks more like Kaiser Wilhelm having produced an offspring with Jar Jar Binks. Ja, da sun doing MURDER to mesa skin.
It seems to me that people here respect authority, though not for the right reasons. As I recall from my Peace Corps days in Morocco, the locals would always tell you that a policeman was the last person you wanted to see before bedtime. How that works here I can only guess.
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