Ok, so I really don’t like repeating myself, but a couple of things bear repeating.

Let me say this in as clear of a way as possible: People here move so slowly that it’s like a bunch of sloths took human form, decided to go for a walk through Amman, and are perusing the ground for microscopic ants.  And then, while they always move slow, the only time they come to a complete halt is in the middle of a doorway, or in front of an escalator, or when rummaging through the contents of their purses at the only ATM within walking distance.  I am honestly coming to believe that there is a giant conspiracy against Americans taking place here.  The conspiracy is an ingenious strategy of moving so slowly that any foreigner will go insane and leave and never come back, whilst they start tearing their skin off in frustration.  A country-wide slow down, if you will.

I mean, honestly, don’t people have some sort of a sense of urgency?  I am a believer in slowing down and enjoying life, but sometimes in order to enjoy life, you have to get to where you’re going.  Actually, in a way it makes perfect sense.  Very few people here drink, so instead they just walk slowly, thereby affording them the opportunity to just turn around and go back.  I promise not to talk of this again unless of course I start tearing my skin off out of frustration.

Of course, usually, these sloth-like walkers walk in safety.  Today, I think I witnessed a miracle.  It’s Thursday night, which here is like Friday and Saturday night wrapped into one.  So it is extremely busy out, and during rush hour, it’s a certifiable Bedlam.  What this means is that when trying to cross one of the busier streets, it might take a solid five minutes to find an opening.  But apparently one old woman had had enough.  I watched a middle-aged woman walk into the middle of traffic on one of the busiest roads in town.  As dozens (hundreds?) of cars screeched to a halt, she just kind of laughed and kept walking.

Now, I’m not religious, but this might have made a believer out of me.  Not only did this woman make it to the other side of the street unscathed, but there was not a single fender bender.  If you could have seen the chaos of the road, you might be able to appreciate the magnitude of this assertion.  In any intervention outside of the grace of Allah, I most likely would have seen a solid fifty accidents.  Seriously, I am sitting here shaking my head in disbelief.  Five minutes later, I joined the woman on the other side of the street, and with a five minute head start, I saw her about fifty yards down the road.

One other thing that needs to be said is that one of the themes through a lot of my posts is the idea of dialogue.  I am a believer in dialogue as a means to an end, but I want to clarify that I am not some tree-hugging liberal who is unrealistically idealistic and thinks the world will fix itself with a little bit of love and understanding.  I like to think this is true, but I’m not stupid.  What I’m trying to say is that while nothing bad can come out of dialogue, nothing good can come out of not talking.

Either George Bush or John McCain (not a knock on either, I just can’t remember who gave the speech) recently mocked a senator (and in turn Obama) from sixty years ago who said that if he had had the chance to talk to Hitler, he could have prevented World War II.  Now, I don’t believe this.  I think Hitler was on the war path and nothing could have stopped it except a strong military, but the point is is that we don’t know.  The senator never got the chance to talk to him.  Nothing bad would have come out of a dialogue with Hitler, and if anything, the senator would have left realizing Hitler was a madman and we would have entered the war sooner and saved millions of lives.  The point is is that we don’t know.  Dialogue with realistic expectations (perhaps with idealistic aspirations) is nothing to scoff at and certainly nothing to be ashamed of supporting. 

PS:  Global Majority (I’m going to periodically drop in Global Majority because I found out a few people are internet stalking and have Google hits with Global Majority, ahem, Lejla and Cameron, and this way, they have to read the whole post to know in which way I was talking about them, J).