Wednesday, November 27, 2019

The Eye Doctor and the Painter


He was eager to work in his profession. Fate, however, had other plans for him. His older brother,Bassel, the one expected by all to be their father's successor, died in a car accident, and so, he, Bashar al Assad, the eye doctor, became Syria's notorious president.

He's got them all on his back: Russia, America, Iran, Turkey, Israel, Hezballa. His life is one long, bloody  struggle to survive, using whatever he has, inclusive chemicals .

I'm not sure about  Donald Trump's intentions in the region, but his two younger predecessors Bush and Obama made it clear they wished to carry out what they called  'installing democracy in the Middle East'.  Their actions were set to achieve that by getting rid of the dictators in the region. 

Bush got Saddam of Irak eliminated. 
Obama was more ambitious. His 'Arab Spring ' campaign got Khaddafi of Lybia eliminated,  Mubarak of Egypt put in jail . 
He failed , however, to touch Assad. probably because of  the russians who were there  intimidating whoever sought to approach and harm their protegee.

Anyway, Assad could have been  a good doctor,  a people's eyesight saver . But when Fate intervenes, there's nothing one can do about. 

It somehow reminds me of Hitler, who could have been,  a good painter, and  perhaps, a decent human being. Fate intervened - the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, refused to accept him for studies as he failed the entrance exam twice.  So, our mediocre painter Adolf  went into politics instead, and the rest is.... History.


39 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Hi Evi,thank you.
      Good to be back and read your posts and the posts of my other followers.

      Delete
  2. Welcome back, Duta, we've missed you!
    I've always thought of Obama as the new Hitler, he brought so much death, division to the world during his evil rule, not to mention how he started the biggest intercontinental exodus of people we've ever seen in the history of mankind. His evil deeds changed the world in a very dark way and I fear the consequences of that will be felt hundreds of years after.
    How are you, Duta?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm Ok, thanks for asking and for missing my blogging. Things have been accumulating and I need time to deal with them, so blogging sometimes becomes a luxury I can't afford.

      The Arab Spring was indeed a ruthless, pointless campaign.
      I usually feel uneasy when young people are elected as Heads of State. Lack of experience and eagerness to show quick, impressive results are often a bad combination.

      Delete
  3. Welcome back, Duta. It is a long time since we heard from you. I suspect that most eye doctors don't morph into someone as heinous as Assad, even if the course of their life changes in ways they hadn't anticipated. It is truly depressing the way we keep repeating history isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.
      I usualy try to look for the better side in people, even the notorious bad ones like Assad.
      Yes, sadly, history repeats itself, and we people learn nothing.

      Delete
  4. Interesting post, on what might have been. This applies to every life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed so. I totally agree with you on that.

      Delete
  5. Fate supposedly is the belief that there is a natural order that can't we change no matter what. It's predetermined for our lives. Like you said, when fate intervenes, there's nothing one can do about it. So letting fate have control of us is letting other people and conditions rule. And usually with not good results, Hitler is the perfect example, along with Stalin and many more.
    It's great to see you back and I hope all is well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All's well, thank you Pam.
      I kind of believe in Fate; things happen beyond a person's control.We all experience that now and then.

      Assad wanted to be a doctor not a president and not a fighter against rebels. It was imposed on him by circumstances, and now without the russians and iranians he wouldn't have survived.

      Delete
  6. I've studied a lot of WWII history and there is much about Donald Trump that reminds me of Adolf Hitler. It spells out in so many ways and it is astoundingly frightening. Assad is much the same. I thought by now we'd learn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hitler was rather unique, methinks. It's hard to compare others to him. He had sent troops to occupy other countries, displaced millions of people, exterminated millions of others..As far as I know Trump hasn't done that (yet).

      Assad is facing rebels in his country, and is struggling to survive. The americans side with the rebels , so he opened Syria to the russians and iranians who help him survive. He's no friend of Israel, neither are the rebels, so I can be objective and try to understand his position.

      Delete
  7. I'm glad to hear from you. World affairs have been pretty strange. World leaders haven't been exactly worldly.
    Glad you are back. You always have an interesting perspective.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The world and the world leaders are in a big mess.
      Thanks ,Jenn, for your kind words.

      Delete
  8. Welcome back Duta!! Glad to "see" you!! I must say you surprised me with this post, you always have an "eye" on things that you fine tune into your precision posts!! I didn't know how to respond, as there is so much darkness in the plans of someone like that who has turned to such hateful way, so I just was moved to ask God how to pray in this situation, and was led to verse in the book of Acts where Paul was persecuting the people of God and as the "subtitle" of that part reads, "Saul (Paul" turns from Murder to Messiah", and the scripture records how he meets Yeshua and is completely transformed. So to make a long comment to the point, here is the scritpture , a prayer for Assad, based on this scripture:
    Dear Lord, open Assad's eyes --so he may turn from darkness to light and from the power of satan to God, that he and all the other evil ones he is associated with may receive release from sins as well as a place among those who are made holy through trusting in Messiah Yeshua. from Acts 26: 18And we all say AMEN!! . Thank you Duta for helping me to see this need for prayer, may we all say "AMEN!!
    And of course, always prayers for the peace of Jerusalem!!
    Blessings and Shalom!! Love to you Duta!!♡

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a beautiful prayer! Thanks for the suggestion.
      Prayer is always helpful, but it should be done on a permanent basis. People pray for themselves, family, friends. Politicians are usually cursed.
      Perhaps we should start praying for them too, and try to turn a bad politician and head of state from murderer to Messiah.

      Delete
    2. I also pray for peace in the Holy Land, Jerusalem. So sad what politicians do. Have a lovely weekend ☺

      Delete
    3. Peace in the Holy Land and in the whole region is a very volatile issue. Prayers are certainly welcome.
      Wishing you a great weekend, natalia!

      Delete
    4. What a wonderful prayer, Shayndel. I believe it works. We can change the course of history.

      Delete
  9. That's since the 6 day war in 1967 that the troubles last ! As long as Israel doesn't give back the conquered land the war will never end !
    Sad, so many deads for what ??? There have been already more then enough during WW II !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To the arabs. the tiny Israel of before 67, is also part of the 'conquered land'.
      Indeed, too many deaths for a little country in the infamous region of the Middle-East.

      Delete
  10. Hello Duta, welcome back.
    I hope you are well.
    Always interesting to read your posts and the comments.
    I agree whole-heartily when you say 'The world and the world leaders are in a big mess' … and it seems to get worse each day.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.
      Sadly, the overall picture of the world is a very gloomy one, and it doesn't get any better. May God help us! Only He can.

      Delete
  11. Welcome back Duta. It's always nice to see you again. Yes, Fate - all the 'what-ifs'. A road that I sometimes start to mentally walk down in regard to many things that happen in life.
    I like how you've set out your thoughts on this.

    ReplyDelete
  12. 'What-ifs' of life, could make a nice title of a nice subject.
    Thanks for your kind words.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Things that could have been can make you imagine all sorts of things. People all over make decisions about who they will be. I'm just glad that more of those 'bad' people don't become in charge as often as they could. There are a lot of really bad people out there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed, Mary, "there are a lot of really bad people out there". They usually don't act alone, but are surrounded by supporters, and that makes it difficult to neutralize the evil.

      Delete
  14. nice to be reading your clever insights,

    ReplyDelete
  15. Welcome back, and sending some hugs your way! RO

    ReplyDelete
  16. You and your interesting posts and comments have been missed, Duta. Welcome back and I understand how other things in life should and often do come before blogging. It happens to everyone and then as you did, we return. The "what ifs" in life are always so interesting and you shared a few I never knew about, so thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your deep understanding and kind words.
      English is not my first language so for me it's not as easy as for the other bloggers. Sometimes I have to chek spelling of a word or meaning of an expression, and that takes time.

      Delete
  17. "...they wished to carry out what they called 'installing democracy in the Middle East'."

    I don't believe it.

    There. All this news, all these lies. I used to believe them. No more.

    I think Trump was right to pull troops out of Syria.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even if you do wish to believe them - democracy in the Middle East is a farce. Democracy doesn't suit every nation, but the two were probably not the sharpest pencils in the box to get that.
      Honestly, in today's world, I don't know any more what democracy is, or stands for.

      Delete
  18. The world is in such a mess. It is refreshing to read your insights which are always though provoking.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm afraid the world is even in a bigger mess than we could imagine. We must trust God to lead us to some deep understanding of things and constructive actions.

      Delete