proud to be? not yet.
i saw a guy in a huge hummer this morning, phone in one hand (against the law) and throwing garbage out his window with the other. a kuwaiti. how can i accept that he and i originate from the same country? the problem is, people like him are breeding like bunnies
I am a Kuwaiti. Am I proud to be a Kuwaiti? No. Before you take out your punching gloves, I want you to think hard about the term ‘proud to be’ and what it is to be proud of this country, my country. Now, do I love Kuwait? Yes. Passionately. And every day I fight for it. I fight by honking my horn when I increasingly see people rolling down the windows of their fancy cars to throw out a tissue or crumpled up cigarette box. I fight for my country by minding my garbage output. I fight for it by raising three decent (well, most of the time anyway) individuals who I hope will follow my lead as a Kuwaiti fighting for her country. But until the majority of the people of Kuwait start loving it the same manner I and many like me love it, I can’t bring myself to say that I’m proud to be Kuwaiti. But I sure as hell am trying to make it a place my children will be proud to say they are from.
i saw a couple of guys throw some garbage out their car window the other day. i was in my car and they were parked, so i stopped and rolled my window down to talk to them. i went through my usual question and answer session (this only works with kuwaitis), 'excuse me, are you kuwaiti?' usually amused, they answer, 'yes'. 'do you love your country?' 'yes' 'then how come you're throwing garbage on YOUR COUNTRY?' and often, they get the message
i've seen people of all nationalities and all walks of life litter, and it's happening more and more frequently. there is no excuse for it. to me, it is unacceptable in a human being and one of the first signs of a decline in civilization. i will keep honking my horn, i will keep recycling, i will keep opening the door for strangers without expecting a thank you or even an acknowledgment. because i am a civilized human being. and i am a kuwaiti
I am proud to be fighting on your side, the other day, I saw a guy stepping out of his car in a parking, while getting off he threw a tissue, I was right behind him, I picked it up and said: excuse me, this fell from you, he looked at me, took it from my hand and went looking for a trash can, fighting works when we fight with love :)
That’s another strategy I like to use: feigning innocence. It doesn’t always work though. There was this one guy who I said it to and he outrightly said, ‘No, I was just throwing it away, it’s garbage.’
Thanks for fighting along :).