the.world.is.flat-第92章

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change　when　you　tell　them　they　should。　They　change　when　they　tell　themselves　they　
must。　Or　as　Johns　Hopkins　foreign　affairs　professor　Michael　Mandelbaum　puts　it；　
〃People　don't　change　when　you　tell　them　there　is　a　better　option。　They　change　when　
they　conclude　that　they　have　no　other　option。〃　Give　me　10…a…barrel　oil；　and　I　will　
give　you　political　and　economic　reform　from　Moscow　to　Riyadh　to　Iran。　If　America　and　
its　allies　will　not　collaborate　in　bringing　down　the　price　of　crude　oil；　their　
aspirations　for　reform　in　all　these　areas　will　be　stillborn。　
There　is　another　factor　to　consider　here。　When　you　have　to　make　things　with　your　hands　
and　then　trade　with　others　in　order　to　flourish；　not　just　dig　an　oil　well　in　your　
own　backyard；　it　inevitably　broadens　imagination　and　increases　tolerance　and　trust。　
It　is　no　accident　that　Muslim　countries　make　up　20　percent　of　the　world's　population　
but　account　for　only　4　percent　of　world　trade。　When　countries　don't　make　things　anyone　
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else　wants；　they　trade　less；　and　less　trade　means　less　exchange　of　ideas　and　openness　
to　the　world。　The　most　open；　tolerant　cities　in　the　Muslim　world　today　are　its　trading　
centers…Beirut；　Istanbul；　Jakarta；　Dubai；　Bahrain。　The　most　open；　tolerant　cities　
in　China　are　Hong　Kong　and　Shanghai。　The　most　closed　cities　in　the　world　are　in　central　
Saudi　Arabia；　where　no　Christians；　Hindus；　Jews；　or　other　non…Muslims　are　allowed　

to　express　their　religions　in　public　or　build　a　house　of　worship；　and；　in　the　case　
of　Mecca；　even　enter。　Religions　are　the　smelters　and　founders　of　imagination。　The　
more　any　religion's　imagination　…　Hindu；　Christian；　Jewish；　Muslim；　Buddhist…is　
shaped　in　an　isolated　bubble；　or　in　a　dark　cave；　the　more　its　imagination　is　likely　
to　sail　off　in　dangerous　directions。　People　who　are　connected　to　the　world　and　exposed　
to　different　cultures　and　perspectives　are　far　more　likely　to　develop　the　imagination　
of　11/9。　People　who　are　feeling　disconnected；　for　whom　personal　freedom　and　
fulfillment　are　a　Utopian　fantasy；　are　more　likely　to　develop　the　imagination　of　9/11。　
Just　One　Good　Example　
Stanley　Fischer；　the　former　deputy　managing　director　of　the　IMF；　once　remarked　to　
me；　〃One　good　example　is　worth　a　thousand　theories。〃　I　believe　that　is　true。　Indeed；　
people　do　not　change　only　when　they　must：　They　also　change　when　they　see　that　
others…like　themselves…have　changed　and　flourished。　Or　as　Michael　Mandelbaum　also　
points　out；　〃People　change　as　a　result　of　what　they　notice；　not　just　what　they　are　
told〃…especially　when　what　they　notice　is　someone　just　like　them　doing　well。　As　I　
pointed　out　in　Chapter　10；　there　is　only　one　Arab　company　that　developed　a　world…class　
business　strong　enough　to　get　itself　listed　on　the　Nasdaq；　and　that　was　Aramex。　Every　
Jordanian；　every　Arab；　should　know　and　take　pride　in　the　Aramex　story；　the　way　every　
American　knows　the　Apple　and　Microsoft　and　Dell　stories。　It　is　the　example　that　is　
worth　a　thousand　theories。　It　should　be　the　role　model　of　

a　self…empowered　Arab　company；　run　by　Arab　brainpower　and　entrepre…neurship；　
succeeding　on　the　world　stage　and　enriching　its　own　workers　at　the　same　time。　
When　Fadi　Ghandour　took　Aramex　public　again　in　200　5；　this　time　in　Dubai；　some　four　
hundred　Aramex　employees　from　all　over　the　Arab　world　who　had　stock　options　divided　
14　million。　I　will　never　forget　Fadi　telling　me　how　proud　these　employees　were…some　
of　them　managers；　some　of　them　just　delivery　drivers。　This　windfall　was　going　to　enable　
them　to　buy　homes　or　send　their　kids　to　better　schools。　Imagine　the　dignity　that　these　
people　feel　when　they　come　back　to　their　families　and　neighborhoods　and　tell　everyone　
that　they　are　going　to　build　a　new　house　because　the　world…class　Arab　company　they　
work　for　has　gone　public。　Imagine　how　much　dignity　they　feel　when　they　see　themselves　
getting　ahead　by　succeeding　in　the　flat　world…not　in　the　traditional　Middle　Eastern　
way　by　inheritance；　by　selling　land；　or　by　getting　a　government　contract…but　by　
working　for　a　real　company；　an　Arab　company。　Just　as　it　is　no　accident　that　there　
are　no　Indian　Muslims　in　al…Qaeda；　it　is　no　accident　that　the　three　thousand　Arab　
employees　of　Aramex　want　to　deliver　only　packages　that　help　economies　grow　and　Arab　
people　flourish…not　suicide　bombs。　
Speaking　of　the　Aramex　employees　with　stock　options；　Ghandour　said；　〃They　all　feel　
like　owners。　A　lot　of　them　came　up　to　me　and　said；　'Thank　you；　but　I　want　to　invest　
my　options　back　in　the　company　and　be　an　investor　in　the　new　IPO。'〃　
Give　me　just　one　hundred　more　examples　like　Aramex；　and　I　will　start　to　give　you　a　
different　context…and　narrative。　
From　Untouchables　to　Untouchables　
And　while　you　are　at　it；　give　me　one　hundred　Abraham　Georges　as　well…individuals　who　


step　out　of　their　context　and　set　a　different　example　can　have　such　a　huge　impact　
on　the　imagination　of　so　many　others。　One　day　in　February　2004；　I　was　resting　in　my　
hotel　room　in　
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Bangalore；　when　the　phone　rang。　It　was　a　young　Indian　woman　who　said　she　was　attending　
a　private　journalism　school　on　the　outskirts　of　the　city　and　wanted　to　know　if　I　would　
come　by　and　meet　with　her　class。　I've　learned　over　the　years　that　these　sorts　of　
accidental　invitations　often　lead　to　interesting　encounters；　so　I　said；　〃What　the　
heck；　sure。　I'll　come。〃　Two　days　later　I　drove　ninety　minutes　from　downtown　Bangalore　
to　an　open　field　in　which　stood　a　lonely　journalism　school　and　dormitory。　I　was　met　
at　the　door　by　a　handsome；　middle…aged　Indian　man　named　Abraham　George。　Born　inKerala；　
George　served　in　the　Indian　Army；　while　his　mother　immigrated　to　the　United　States　
and　went　to　work　for　NASA。　George　followed　her；　went　on　to　study　at　NYU；　started　a　
software　firm　that　specialized　in　international　finance；　sold　it　in　1998；　and　decided　
to　come　back　to　India　and　use　his　American…made　fortune　to　try　to　change　India　from　
the　bottom…the　absolute　bottom…up。　
One　thing　George　learned　from　his　time　in　the　United　States　was　that　without　more　
responsible　Indian　newspa　
When　we　eventually　reached　the　school　complex；　though；　we　found　neatly　painted　
buildings；　surrounded　by　some　grass　and　flowers；　a　total　
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contrast　to　the　nearby　hamlets。　The　first　classroom　we　walked　into　had　twenty　
untouchable　kids　at　computers　working　on　Excel　and　Microsoft　Word。　Next　door；　another　
class　was　practicing　typing　on　a　computer　typing　program。　I　loudly　asked　the　teacher　
who　was　the　fastest　typist　in　the　class。　She　pointed　to　an　eight…year…old　girl　with　
a　smile　that　could　have　melted　a　glacier。　
〃I　want　to　race　you；〃　I　said　to　her。　All　her　classmates　gathered　round。　I　crunched　
myself　into　a　tiny　seat　in　the　computer　stall　next　to　her；　and　we　each　proceeded　to　
type　the　same　phrase　over　and　over；　seeing　who　could　do　more　in　a　minute。　〃Who's　
winning？〃　Ishouted。　Her　classmates　shouted　her　name　back　and　cheeredher　on。　I　quickly　
surrendered　to　her　gleeful　laugh。　
The　selection　process　to　get　into　Shanti　Bhavan　is　based　on　whether　a　child　is　below　
the　poverty　line　and　the　parents　are　willing　to　send　him　or　her　to　a　boarding　school。　
Shortly　before　I　arrived；　the　students　had　taken　the　California　Achievement　Tests。　
〃We　are　giving　them　English　education　so　they　can　go　anywhere　in　India　and　anywhere　
in　the　world　for　higher　education；〃　said　Law。　〃Our　goal　is　to　give　them　a　world…class　
education　so　they　can　aspire　to　careers　and　professions　that　would　have　been　totally　
beyond　their　reach　and　have　been　so　for　generations。　。　。　Around　here；　their　names　
will　always　give　them　away　as　untouchables。　But　if　they　go　somewhere　else；　and　if　
they　are　really　polished；　with　proper　education　and　social　graces；　they　can　break　
this　barrier。〃　
Then　they　can　become　my　kind　of　untouchables…young　people　who　one　day　can　be　special　
or　specialized　or　adaptable。　
Looking　at　these　kids；　George　said；　〃When　we　talk　about　the　poor；　so　often　it　is　talk　


about　getting　them　off　the　streets　or　getting　them　a　job；　so　they　don't　starve。　But　
we　never　talk　about　getting　excellence　for　the　poor。　My　thought　was　that　we　can　deal　
with　the　issue　of　inequality；　if　they　could　break　out　of　all　the　barriers　imposed　
upon　them。　If　one　is　successful；　they　will　carry　one　thousand　with　them。〃　
After　listening　to　George；　my　mind　drifted　back　to　only　four　months　earlier；　in　the　
fall　of　2003；　when　I　had　been　in　the　West　Bank　filming　another　documentary　about　the　
Arab…Israeli　conflict。　As　a　part　of　that　project；　I　went　to　Ramallah　and　interviewed　
three　young　Palestinian　
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militants　who　were　members　of　Yasser　Arafat's　paramilitary　Tanzim　organization。　What　
was　so　striking　about　the　interview　were　the　mood　swings　of　these　young　men　from　
suicidal　despair　to　dreamy　aspirations。　When　I　asked　one　of　the　three；　Mohammed　Motev；　
what　was　the　worst　thing　about　living　in　the　context　of　Israeli　occupation；　he　said　
the　checkpoints。　〃When　a　soldier　asks　me　to　take　off　my　clothes　in　front　of　the　girls。　
It's　a　great　humiliation　to　me　。。。　to　take　off　my　shirt　and　my　pants　and　turn　around　
and　all　the　girls　are　standing　there。〃　It　is　one　reason；　he　said；　that　all　Palestinian　
young　people　today　are　just　suicide　bombers　in　waiting。　He　called　them　〃martyrs　in　
waiting；〃　while　his　two　friends　nodded　in　assent。　They　warned　me　that　if　Israel　tried　
to　kill　Yasser　Arafat；　who　was　then　still　alive　（and　was　a　leader　who　knew　how　to　
stimulate　only　memories；　not　dreams）；　they　would　turn　the　whole　area　into　a　living　
〃hell。〃　To　underscore　this　point；　Motev　took　out　his　wallet　and　showed　me　a　picture　
of　Arafat。　But　what　caught　my　eye　was　the　picture　of　a　young　girl　next　to　it。　
〃Who's　that？〃　I　asked。　That　was　his　girlfriend；　he　explained；　slightly　red…faced。　
So　there　was　his　wallet…Yasser　Arafat　on　one　page；　whom　he　was　ready　to　die　for；　and　
his　girlfriend　on　the　other；　whom　he　wanted　to　live　for。　A　few　minutes　later；　one　
of　his　colleagues；　Anas　Assaf；　became　emotional。　He　was　the　only　one　in　college；　an　
engineering　student　at　Bir　Zeit　University　near　Ramallah。　After　breathing　fire　about　
also　being　willing　to　die　for　Arafat；　he　began　waxing　eloquent　about　how　much　he　wanted　
to　go　to　the　University　of　Memphis；　where　his　uncle　lived；　〃to　study　engineering。〃　
Unfortunately；　he　said；　he　could　not　get　a　visa　into　the　United　States　now。　Like　his　
colleague；　Assaf　was　ready　to　die　for　Yasser　Arafat；　but　he　wanted　to　live　for　the　
University　of　Memphis。　
These　were　good　young　men；　not　terrorists。　But　their　role　models　were　all　angry　men；　
and　these　young　men　spent　a　lot　of　their　time　imagining　how　to　unleash　their　anger；　
not　realizing　their　potential。　Abraham　George；　by　contrast；　produced　a　different　
context　and　a　different　set　of　teacher　role　models　for　those　untouchable　children　
in　his　school；　and　together　they　planted　in　his　students　the　seeds　of　a　very　different　
imagination。　We　must　have　more　Abraham　Georges…everywhere…by　the　thousands：　people　
who　gaze　upon　a　classroom　of　untouchable　kids　and　
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not　only　see　the　greatness　in　each　of　them　but；　more　important；　get　them　to　see　the　
greatness　in　themselves　while　endowing　them　with　the　tools　to　bring　that　out。　
After　o