The choice of whether Qatar wants to prioritize on profits or people is theirs alone. And they are choosing profits and self-interest. Comparing something simple like a bus shelter with the west is not a fair argument. Western cities operate on a tight budget and have to spread their money wisely and often end up with a deficit. They can't approve all yearly initiatives because there just isn't enough money.
Qatar is in a unique position with a low population, zero immigration or any social responsibilities for non-Qatari's, and a huge budget surplus. Qatar's 2006-07 budget surplus is QR6.7 billion. Basically they have no budget constraints.
So not providing shade at a bus stop is simply them choosing not to make it a priority. Why? Is it because Qatari's don't ride the bus? Comparing buses in Qatar with Nepal is insulting. Nepal has a per-capita income of $1,500. Versus Qatar, which has a GDP per capita of $63,000. This gives Qatar the excuse to not have them???
Another simple example is pedestrian overpasses over major roads. Every year countless expats are killed or severly injured while trying to cross the roads. But still there are no pedestrian overpasses on any of the roads. Why? Is it because Qatari's aren't gettting killed trying to cross the road.
Is it ethical to know people are getting injured or killed, have the funds and the means to do something about it, but choose not to?
Diamondgirl you have a big heart and your making positive changes but you say: "Unfortunately we haven't had the benefit of hundreds of years to change like the west." This is actually where you are lucky. Learn from the mistakes of the west so you don't repeat them. Unfortunately this isn't the case and Qatar is turning into just another Country of Consumers. Land in Dubai and it could be any American city, and Qatar is joining the race to achieve the same goal. You have look at the big picture, challenge everything, and don't allow things to take place simply because that's the way it is in the west. Once a country decides the direction of where it wants to go, it's extremely hard to turn back. If you choose consumerism, prepare to live with the consequences.
5 years from now when there are more social ills because of the quest for the fast buck just don't blame the west. Instead remember that all the choices Qatar is making is theirs alone. All the evidence and studies are already available from the West to learn from our mistakes and shortcomings. Don't let your ego decide what's best for you, let your heart decide what's best for society.
Below is a recent article from Harvard Psychologist Daniel Gilbert. It sums up the futile quest for happiness by consuming:
Individuals and societies don't have the same fundamental need.
Individuals want to be happy, and societies want individuals to consume. Most of us don't feel personally responsible for stoking our country's economic engine; we feel personally responsible for increasing our own well-being. These different goals present a real dilemma, and society cunningly solves it by teaching us that consumption will bring us happiness.
Society convinces us that what's good for the economy is good for us too. This message is delivered to us by every magazine, television, newspaper, and billboard, at every bus stop, grocery store, and airport. It finds us in our cars, it's made its way onto our clothing. Happiness, we learn, is just around the corner and it requires that we consume just one more thing. And then just one thing more after that. So we do, we find out that the happiness of consumption is thin and fleeting, and rather than thinking to ourselves, "Gosh, that promise of happiness-by-consumption was a lie," we instead think, "Gosh, I must not have consumed enough and I probably need just one small upgrade to my stereo, car, wardrobe, or wife, and then I'll be happy."
We live in the shadow of a great lie, and by the time we figure out that it is a lie we are closing in on death and have become irrelevant consumers, and a new generation of young and relevant consumers takes our place in the great chain of shopping.
The choice of whether Qatar wants to prioritize on profits or people is theirs alone. And they are choosing profits and self-interest. Comparing something simple like a bus shelter with the west is not a fair argument. Western cities operate on a tight budget and have to spread their money wisely and often end up with a deficit. They can't approve all yearly initiatives because there just isn't enough money.
Qatar is in a unique position with a low population, zero immigration or any social responsibilities for non-Qatari's, and a huge budget surplus. Qatar's 2006-07 budget surplus is QR6.7 billion. Basically they have no budget constraints.
So not providing shade at a bus stop is simply them choosing not to make it a priority. Why? Is it because Qatari's don't ride the bus? Comparing buses in Qatar with Nepal is insulting. Nepal has a per-capita income of $1,500. Versus Qatar, which has a GDP per capita of $63,000. This gives Qatar the excuse to not have them???
Another simple example is pedestrian overpasses over major roads. Every year countless expats are killed or severly injured while trying to cross the roads. But still there are no pedestrian overpasses on any of the roads. Why? Is it because Qatari's aren't gettting killed trying to cross the road.
Is it ethical to know people are getting injured or killed, have the funds and the means to do something about it, but choose not to?
Diamondgirl you have a big heart and your making positive changes but you say: "Unfortunately we haven't had the benefit of hundreds of years to change like the west." This is actually where you are lucky. Learn from the mistakes of the west so you don't repeat them. Unfortunately this isn't the case and Qatar is turning into just another Country of Consumers. Land in Dubai and it could be any American city, and Qatar is joining the race to achieve the same goal. You have look at the big picture, challenge everything, and don't allow things to take place simply because that's the way it is in the west. Once a country decides the direction of where it wants to go, it's extremely hard to turn back. If you choose consumerism, prepare to live with the consequences.
5 years from now when there are more social ills because of the quest for the fast buck just don't blame the west. Instead remember that all the choices Qatar is making is theirs alone. All the evidence and studies are already available from the West to learn from our mistakes and shortcomings. Don't let your ego decide what's best for you, let your heart decide what's best for society.
Below is a recent article from Harvard Psychologist Daniel Gilbert. It sums up the futile quest for happiness by consuming:
Individuals and societies don't have the same fundamental need.
Individuals want to be happy, and societies want individuals to consume. Most of us don't feel personally responsible for stoking our country's economic engine; we feel personally responsible for increasing our own well-being. These different goals present a real dilemma, and society cunningly solves it by teaching us that consumption will bring us happiness.
Society convinces us that what's good for the economy is good for us too. This message is delivered to us by every magazine, television, newspaper, and billboard, at every bus stop, grocery store, and airport. It finds us in our cars, it's made its way onto our clothing. Happiness, we learn, is just around the corner and it requires that we consume just one more thing. And then just one thing more after that. So we do, we find out that the happiness of consumption is thin and fleeting, and rather than thinking to ourselves, "Gosh, that promise of happiness-by-consumption was a lie," we instead think, "Gosh, I must not have consumed enough and I probably need just one small upgrade to my stereo, car, wardrobe, or wife, and then I'll be happy."
We live in the shadow of a great lie, and by the time we figure out that it is a lie we are closing in on death and have become irrelevant consumers, and a new generation of young and relevant consumers takes our place in the great chain of shopping.