Starting from Somewhere

Can some of the politicians do more?

Yes. Here are four things they can do from the top of my head.

1 - Women rights. Check here for more. It doesn't do to say "look at Nayla Mouwad and Bahia Hariri - they're politicians." or to say "our society is structured like this". Should religion influence how things are divided among men and women?

2 - Education. It is compulsary for children to go through secondary school. That isn't enforced yet. More public libraries can be built, and those that exist can be expanded. Teachers can be motivated more by getting paid more (600 $ in a private school and 400$ - last I heard - in a public school is not motivation). Interaction between schools, via sports, field trips, art competitions.

3 - Gay rights. The first politician that declares some need for this will automatically have my respect (mainly because he/she would know that by doing so, they have alienated other supporters ... assuming the supporters aren't "sheep" ...). Denying it is being blind. Using male hormones as treatment (which is what the UAE did) is backwards, and inhumane.

4 - Industry facilitation. Opening a company ... or even a branch ... is not easy work. Lots of opportunities lost with that, ranging from employment to taxation.

There are more, but these are just examples. Freedom comes in many flavors. We should always keep that in mind.

posted by Lazarus, 10:02 PM