‘Not all imagination necessarily useful ... some of it is harmful, evil’
“FOR Albert Einstein, imagination is more important than knowledge, as knowledge accumulates, and the learner masters his craft according to what he learns, but what makes him a creative and innovative person is not the traditional cumulative act, but rather the imagination that transfers it to new locations,” columnist, Professor at Kuwait University’s Political Science Department, an advisor to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the secretary general of the Arab Fund for Human Rights (AFHR) Dr Ghanim Al-Najjar wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“Of course, not all imagination is necessarily useful, as some of it is harmful and evil. Rather, that imagination prompted the book of evil ‘The Prince’, by Machiavelli to be the imagined reference, and an effective recipe for the tyrannical ruler as others see it.
“What is taught in schools is traditional knowledge, to produce traditional people, who may be good at their craft, but they stand by it. As for the ability to imagine the possibilities of what results from that knowledge, it is the concern of the innovators, who are few in society.
“This applies to almost everything in our lives, not only in physics laboratories, Einstein’s fulcrum position, and his saying in which he preferred imagination over knowledge, but even in the social, political and economic field.
“Most of those interested in the movement of history, and the use of its experiences to manage society, rely, to a large extent, in their understanding of life and their vision of the future, on the past and its events, and through it they derive the future, and determine what will happen, and most of the destructive conflicts in the world are based on past experiences and history, they are in their view as inevitable.
“Even racism is based on long-standing hatreds, hundreds and perhaps thousands of years, and ‘traditional wisdom’ is necessarily based on the past, and some keep repeating events, with proverbs, poems and tales, as if they were their present, and although the only constant in societies is change, the belief Historic impedes the possibility of breaking the impasse.
“The issue becomes more complicated and bloody when historical knowledge turns into firm convictions among leaders of politics, economy and society, whether they are convinced of it or use it to lead the masses, and through it they judge how to manage society, and the nature of its relationship with other societies.
“At that time, societies remain revolved around themselves, and they do not see anything but themselves in the mirror, and extremism and fanaticism emerge through it and within it, and define the prior position of the other, which has no solution but annihilation.”
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“The series of citizens’ complaints about the spread of financial corruption, the buying of debts, negligence, and indifference in the country’s money will not stop unless the government proves its purity of intention to stop theft of public money, by referring them to the Public Prosecution, and issuing explicit prison sentences for “so-and-so” and shelving such cases in the name of innocence and lack of evidence,” columnist Walid Ibrahim Al-Ahmad wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“The series of prosecuting residence violators in the country will not stop, and we will continue to hear the routine news of the Ministry of Interior arresting violators at the Friday Market, Jleeb, Farwaniya, Hawalli, Fahaheel, Ahmadi unless and until the government stops the activity of visa traders which is the only way for these crooks to make hay while the sun shines – the practice that has exposed us abroad as “human traffickers.”
“This is like the series of soap operas and plays, the deviant dialogues, the moral deviation and the distortion of the image of fine art and Kuwaiti society will not stop unless the Ministry of Information monitors the texts and stops what is published in the name of art and refer them for investigation.
“The series of spreading rumors, slander, and stigmatizing symptoms through social media will not stop, unless the owners of these (fake) accounts are pursued without waiting for those affected to file complaints against such social media sites.
“The series of scrutiny and the crazy speed in the street war and the disturbance of (God’s creations) with the annoying sounds that come from the exhaust of cars will not stop unless the Ministry of Interior applies its traffic law in true spirit and impound vehicles and arrest the drivers, with the addition of a new law related to crushing these vehicles and turning them into scrap.
“Is it conceivable, to see the Ministry of Public Works turning a blind eye to our streets remain (potholes) since the time the phenomenon of flying gravel surfaced, without moving to repair these roads due to lack of supervision of contractors and a separate court ruling (to imprison) whoever is responsible for the destruction of our roads?”
“Just like what we see in reports about the world after Covid-19 written by specialists, non-specialists and those seeking fame, as well as reports on the post-Ukraine world, politics may mix with the economy and opportunism may spread at the level of states and leaders due to interests and balance of power, while culture may have a secondary role. However, the world after Ukraine will undoubtedly rethink many things,” columnist Dr Hind Al-Choumar wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“This has already begun through the looming weapons of war and destruction, through the role and effectiveness of sanctions, and through major energy and gas projects and alternative scenarios.
“In terms of education and culture, wars put them at the last priority, in addition to medicine, health, victims of wars, injuries and disabilities between the military and civilians, and victims of new lethal weapons under different names — whether biological weapons or those destroying the lungs, such as bombs that affect oxygen in the lungs, psychological warfare weapons or gaseous, toxic and nuclear emissions, and leaks from Ukraine and its warehouses.
“Humanity has faced multiple types of weapons of mass destruction in previous wars such as anthrax bombs, bioterrorism and the Gulf War, which occupied the medical and scientific circles for several decades after the end of the war and the withdrawal of the warring forces.
“What is happening in Ukraine in terms of fighting methods is still not fully known. The scientific and research community should pay attention to them due to the devastating effects such as Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. Other wars revealed the devastation that afflicted Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, and not far from memory, the devastating health effects of the Gulf War and associated pathologies.”
“It is not in the interest of Kuwait or Iraq if any form of escalation occurs between them,” columnist Abdulrahman Al-Awad wrote for AlSabah daily.
“The Kuwaiti leadership has taken upon itself to transcend all the wounds caused by the treacherous invasion of our country. It has preferred to replace enmity, hatred and strife with affection, rapprochement and partnership.
“May God have mercy on the late Amir of humanity, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, who made great strides in this field. He opened all doors for the return of normal relations with Iraq, believing that we are two neighboring countries and two brotherly peoples.
“And that if there was a tyrannical ruler who imposed a hostile approach on Iraq with all the neighboring countries, and made a mistake in all his reckless calculations and his failed and miserable expansionist plans, then the Iraqi people were defeated and ruled by iron and fire. It is neither logical nor reasonable to remain hostage to what Saddam did, or be punished for his crime.
“The late Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad led an international movement to support Iraq and help it rise again. During his reign, Kuwait organized a global conference to support the reconstruction of Iraq. His Highness also visited Baghdad. Over the past years, Kuwait received senior Iraqi officials, personalities and leaders representing all colors of the political and religious spectra in Iraq.”
“If we look back to the last 15 years, we will find that senior officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeated the same statements almost every year. There is no meeting or celebration in a European embassy except if they say that the Schengen visa will be canceled for Kuwaitis soon!” columnist Dr Naji Al-Zaid wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“We waited for ‘years’ as the Kuwaiti stands in queues at Alraya Center to obtain a visa. Since the first statement when the Kuwaiti obtained the visa in three days and more any official in the Foreign Ministry declared it, the longer the period of obtaining the visa, which could reach weeks, while the fees have increased!
“Please do not declare anything for fear that the period for obtaining a visa will be three months, instead of days or weeks.
“Our relationship with all countries in the European Union is excellent. We find no excuse for preferring some citizens of Gulf countries who are ‘exempt’ from visas over Kuwaitis, while Kuwait has more investments, and has more cultural exchange and students there.
“Why we have not been given priority?!”