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AMMONNEWS - By Dr. Mohammad Awad Al Afnan - Dreaming of a better tomorrow is the inspiration of many who gathered in the streets peacefully in times and violently in others. They all wanted change and in many places they got what they want. They brought the political systems down as they wished; but, unfortunately, many other good things went down as well. This is the case on the economic, social and security levels. No one may argue that this change has brought prosperity, stability or even opportunities; but everyone may tell you how uncertain, scared and ruined the overwhelming majority of the citizens are.

I am not in a position to argue with or against the revolutions as I believe we still need decades to fully comprehend what has actually happened. Alternatively, I just want to think of yesterday and today, where we were and where we are and what we have and what are we lift with. Looking around would tell us that it didn’t take long for so many people (not all) to miss the past. In a country, they brought the regime down and a year later they made another revolution to correct the mistakes. In another, they had stability in a way or another to end up with an army, a shield and guards where no one has a clue of what is actually happening. Another country, and in a matter of few years, has changed from a safe and stability heaven into a terror and extremism heaven. I don’t think this the fault of the people who dreamed or even strived for change. I just simply argue it is an implementation error.

There are two different ways to implementing change that are the top-down and the down-top approaches. Both are slow. In the top-down approach, the head of the hierarchy needs to have a true desire to change. This approach is slow as there would be the old guards who would reject this change because of certain benefits and privileges that they don’t want to lose. In this case change will definitely take place, but in stages and over a long period of time. People need to be patient and believe that change will take place. The down-top approach is also slow as it needs a true desire from the overwhelming majority of the people and a lot of patience as well. This approach may take two different forms that are the change starts from home approach or the unpopular Arab spring revolutionary approach.

History shows that uprisings do not bring stability; they bring destruction. People dream of a better future. A future in which their children have a stable life and a better tomorrow. But to achieve this, they need to be responsible. They need to safeguard their achievements and build on them rather than destroying them. The ones who march in the streets and force the closure of businesses are not into a spring; they are into a stormy winter. The ones who blast buildings and offices are not into a spring; they are into violence. There are several peaceful and more effective channels that would bring us a fruitful spring, a prosperous future and stability at the same time.

If we want a spring, we should change ourselves first and just then change our world. The move to democracy would take time. It is a process. Looking at the experience of Europe and the US would tell us that it took them decades to fully implement the rules of good governance. Eastern Europe, for example, suffered for almost two decades to make the switch from the one-party-state into democratic states. Some of them still suffer from bad governance and corruption even more than before. Therefore, change should not only involve governments, but it should also involve the citizens, the ordinary individuals, and their mind sets.

If people want change, they should respect each other and realize that the differences are a source of strength not weakness. They should develop the culture of standing in lines and waiting not hogging the turns. They should carry out their professional and organizational duties seriously and realize that time is gold. They should consider following the rules and regulations a habit. They should accept that everyone is entitled to his/her opinion. They need to respect each other rather than humiliate one another on trivial issues. They should, as John Kennedy once said, ask not what their country can give them, but they should ask what can they give their country? I personally believe that if we do all this, we don’t need to ask for change. We would have employed change and everything around would have no option but change. This is the case as Almighty would not change a condition of a nation, if they didn’t change themselves.