The Silent Majority: The Essence Remains
Things may appear to us and to others as if they have changed or taken on a different face, but the essence remains the same. Change is the law of life. So, is Kuwait today the same as it was 50 years ago? Or even 20 years ago? Certainly not.
The order of priorities has been completely overturned, as the country’s general orientations have shifted. Safeguarding national identity, rationalizing expenditure, and amending legislation have moved to the forefront of the agenda. It has become possible to enter areas that were previously off-limits, even if they fell squarely within the purview of the executive authority, such as abolishing certain ministries and agencies, restructuring them, and reducing their leadership to the bare minimum. These areas had been co-opted as spheres of political influence for ministers, members of parliament, and centers of political and social power.
There were many parallel worlds coexisting on the same soil, each with its own superheroes who dominated affairs within their respective domains, operating above the law and above the constitution, all at the expense of the only world we know and live in. When all those worlds were merged, their superheroes evaporated, and we no longer hear the whispers of “whoever is talking.”
These new orientations have given rise to fresh dynamics and numerous unspoken elephants in the room. From ambitions that reached the ceiling of a strategic alternative to unify salaries, to demands for job security over the screen allowance! From mocking certain categories of ration subsidies to demanding job security for maintaining the same allocated quantities! Who today would deny that the ordinary marriage request is no longer what it used to be, with questions branching out into the nationality law and fears of entanglement in a marriage whose legal status remains unknown? The queries about “salary, lineage, and whether it ends in Bangkok?” have become old-fashioned, and all of this is conducted through covert channels.
As for the selection for positions, matters are no longer as they were, even though the past was not pristine and free from nepotism. Even voting in elections for public benefit associations and attending general assemblies is now conducted solely through the application of identity cards, to ensure that the participant has not lost their identity! Finally, no matter how the scene suggests change, the essence must remain as it is. Democracy in Kuwait is not merely a constitution, a parliament, and an election fund; it is a comprehensive way of life that has ensured Kuwait’s distinction, progress, and internal and external security.
