Of Cats and Government

Did you know that controversial Al-Watan columnist Fouad Al-Hashem has a TV show now? I think it may be for the election period only, but basically, he interviews one person a night and they've all been either Ministers (Ahmed Baqer) or people running for office.

Anyway, there are those who love him and there are those who hate him. There are those that consider him the worst thing that ever happened to Kuwaiti media. There are those that see him as the true voice of the Kuwaiti citizen. To call him controversial is an understatement. Now I'm saying this because I plan on quoting him, without commenting on my personal feelings or position when it comes to this man. The quote, however, I subscribe to 100%:

On his show, Al-Hashem began discussing his encounter with this old Egyptian teacher. They used to sit together and speak of politics, and social aspects. So he recounts a story that this Egyptian teacher told him, in the following way:

"One day, a man was about to get married. He went to his Father and asked him if he had any pearls of wisdom for him so that his marriage will be long and successful. The Father looks at his son and says 'Do what I tell you, and you will have a long and fruitful marriage'. He went on to tell him to hide a cat under their bed on the night of their wedding (ringing bells anyone?). 'Then, once the cat makes the slightest sound, you quickly grab him from under the bed and execute him in front of your wife'.

The wedding night comes and goes, and the man decides against his Father's advice. He loves his wife very much, and the idea of killing a cat in front of her seemed cruel and arcane. After 40 years of marriage, the man reflects on all that has happened and realized that this woman undermined him, disobeyed him, scolded and even hit him for his entire life. On that day, after another one of her yelling sessions, he decided that he'd had enough. He ran out to the street, found a stray cat and brought it back to the house. After the woman saw her husband kill a cat in front of her, she said "Oh honey, its a little late for that, don't ya think?"

That's the story Fouad Al-Hashem used to describe our Government. I think he hit the nail on the head with that story. Nevertheless, correcting our mistakes is important and reviving the lost prestige of the law is worth the effort.