National resilience

Despite the inherent differences between human societies at various levels in terms of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, nationality, socio-economic status, humans are very similar in terms of their basic needs as individuals.

Differences often lie within the broader general needs and classifications of priorities from country to country, and it is the political system in each country that determines these needs according to the prevailing ideologies, which in turn determines how governments traditionally allocate public financial resources.

Consequently, economic systems are designed to achieve these traditional aims, in addition to stimulating economic growth and development, and financing and supporting everything needed to achieve a social balance within the confines of a single political entity, the state.

Nationalism on the other hand was designed to fuse all of the public needs with the priorities defined within the state.

The path taken by the Hashemite leadership in the Kingdom of Jordan under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, towards achieving economic and political success, was built on the principles of nationalism, with less of a focus on the historical dimension and the confluence between the problems of the past and the challenges of the present, as such are invariably futile efforts that potentially diminish the effectiveness and realistic application of legitimate economic solutions.

Nationalism should not be viewed diminutively as mere sloganeering and banal words, as it is a common element that binds a land, a people, and a common language group, without contradicting traditional doctrine, and it is certainly and decisively, a tool that has created an economy and a mechanism to achieve our national goals.

With our brand of nationalism as Jordanians, we have been able to avoid wars and crises, and more importantly, we have been able to focus on our own challenges and proposed solutions for dealing with them.

As disagreements may ensue in addressing the challenges we face in our current context, in many cases, we tend to meet in middle, and in other cases, we tend to adopt one opinion without considering others. 

In some cases, we respond to both the inherent and evolving challenges we face through conciliation, and by adopting a unified approach, such as when we reconcile between our own political thoughts and religious perspectives, which in many cases puts us on a successful trajectory to achieve our national objectives above all else.

Jordan, within the context of its national aspirations and objectives, is able to achieve this balance through social cohesion and through the establishment of fair standards for social justice.

Effective political, economic and ideological decisions have a strong impact over the formulation of the value system that we find crystallised in the very same laws designed to establish them. From this point of reference, economic behaviours, solutions and economic support, whether for the individual or for the state, are regarded at the highest levels.

Political economies are generally based on the establishment of behavioural concepts for advancement and development, and of course, the participation between the private and public sector.

In countries that have not succeed as well, to some extent we witness a noticeable absence of social equality and justice, primarily due to concentration of excessive wealth and power in the hands of a very small segment of the population.

Political participation is predicted on the existence of economic and political policies that function as a guiding compass through a transparent economic system that is rooted in ideas and achievements, and not shifting moods or sentiments that are disrupted by negative conditions.

As Jordanians, we are proud of our form of nationalism, even if we may sometimes veer away from it occasionally. As we are sometimes caught alone in middle of our path, we often return united as we were, even if for a short period of time. And it is usually within this brief interlude that we tend to regain the strength and determination needed to continue our journey towards creating, building and developing a better future that is certainly not free from challenges and setbacks that can resolved without weakness or despair.

We tightly embrace that which unites us as a nation, refusing and resisting those forces that pull back on us, after all the challenges we have successfully surmounted as attested to by our own history that is rich in stories about our struggles, not only to preserve what we have, but to preserve equality, justice and freedom, despite life's challenges and difficult circumstances.