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Lessons from Lawrence: Lessons from the film, "Lawrence of Arabia"


“Lawrence of Arabia” starring Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness and Omar Sharif, and directed by David Lean is one of my favorite films. Watching coverage of the continuing crises in the Middle East makes me realize that all we need to understand about the Middle East region can be found in this classic film.
1. About the ARAB SPRING: “THE TRICK IS NOT MINDING”
You will be burnt! Playing with matches at the beginning of the film, an officer exclaims loudly that it really hurts when you are burnt by a match. “Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding” replies Lawrence. You are going to have to take some good solid licks when mucking around in the Middle East.
Not in the same sense, hopefully, as described by George C. Scott, portraying a General in “Dr. Strangelove”, who exclaims in an animated tone when chastised for advocating nuclear war, “Well, of course I’m not saying we aren’t going to get our hair mussed a little bit!”
We don’t want to go quite as far as the deranged General, but in keeping with tradition, the policy is that you must take some hits before you will begin to recover when dealing with the Arab states.
2. , “ENGLISH WILL NEVER KNOW THE EASTERN MIND-SET”: Alec Guiness to Peter O'Toole: "You are, I think, one of those 'Desert-Loving' English...We do not LOVE the Desert. We love green grass, water...
You are one of those desert-loving English”…I believe the Arabs are quietly amused, or maybe openly laughing at the Western mythos that romanticizes the Eastern philosophy. Are they so different from you and I? Don’t they want the same things for their children, for their people? If you cut them, do they not bleed?…Why do we persist in pigeon-holing this race of people into one that is not of this earth? They are humans, and they do bleed.
3. IDEALISTIC YOUNG LAWRENCE VS THE BADDIES: The "Baddies" being the Establishment Government that divvied up the spoils of War.
In the same vein, the people of the state of Palestine, and of Syria and Lebanon, cannot seriously believe that our people have elected to spy on them at all costs. That we believe that killing innocent people in drone strikes is a good thing. We do not. We are not our government. Governments always play head-games with the people. We are ALL pawns in the game of war and the international monetary fund. Yet somehow, the American is seen as the Ugly American in the same way we see the East as some double-speaking, untrustworthy member of a terrorist organization. It can’t all be true.
No wonder no-one trusts anyone anymore. There is an attitude that seeps through the cracks that inspires mass chaos. The general mood is not one of order and function, but of despair and death. We are caught up in the world of the internet, and at times, begin to believe our own press
4. DISILLUSIONMENT SETS IN, FOLLOWED BY DESPAIR, DEPRESSION, NOT CARING IF YOU LIVE OR DIE…
Sometime a Great Notion can take you far. But gambling sometimes turns on you and bites you when you least expect it. You cannot govern lurching from crisis to crisis, and if we decide to institute a long-term foreign policy that encourages global co-operation and openness in government, that might get us farther in the long run
5. As with Lawrence, a "devil-may-care" attitude will get you far, but then again, it may get you killed! Can we ever really know another human being? How can we profess to know the mindset of a country at war?
Why do we persist in thinking we know how other peoples think and feel? (See #2)
6. PEACE IS NOT IN OUR NATURE:
Sadly, Jesus Christ was crucified. If he came to the Middle East today and started energetically advocating a peaceful global solution, he would most probably die another type of horrific death. Peace is really a four letter word to many humans. It’s not in the nature of some men. (yes, and women too!)
7. WE WILL things to happen-but even the best laid plans God will set asunder.
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men…you know the saying!
8. It is in each one of us to change the tablet. Nothing is written in stone-but…BIG BUT!…There are some things we cannot change. So we should learn the Serenity Prayer when dealing with the Middle East. Change what we can, Accept those things we cannot change, AND HAVE THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!
If we keep doing what we have always done, we will keep getting the same results. Is it madness or just Government and global mind-think?
If our lives were a movie, we would know how it ends… In “Lawrence of Arabia”, they began at the end so we had foreknowledge of Lawrence’s sad and ironic death. .But we do not, unfortunately, have the benefit of looking into the future and working our way back from the point of no return. That is our challenge today throughout the world, whether it is climate change, nuclear disarmament or the prospects of Middle East peace. All challenges must be faced with the attitude of those who would plant trees under which they will never enjoy shade. We must go all-in for the future to be viable for the next generation, yet unborn.

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