Al-Riyadh Newspaper

All societies at one point or another suffer from cultural regression but they always find a way to break through the barriers and unblock the restrictions that prevent them as a whole from progressing and developing.

Countries and societies are like a living creature with a life cycle. Like any other species, societies also undergo the four distinct life stages: childhood, youth, middle age and old age. Indeed, they might go through hard times and get sick. They might even lose consciousness, but they will eventually stand up and continue their normal life.

Anyone who has studied human civilization and looked deeply into the history of people and their experiences as a society will come to the conclusion that people must make a collective decision to identify fault lines and make serious efforts to improve their lives.

Over the past four decades, Saudi society has missed out on countless opportunities to improve, shed bad habits and progress with changing times. In other words, we lost out on opportunities to adopt a worldview that makes us happy and content.

However, we are currently in a new era whose foundation is a knowledgeable and enlightened society that is willing to break away from decades of mistakes in pursuit of an equal and normal life just like other societies around the world.

We have finally realized how precious such opportunities are and we are on the path to create a normal and free society that is free of racism, sectarianism, hatred and worries. Our lives used to be like a beautiful garden where everyone lived in harmony and there is now a desire to return to our moderate roots.

In my childhood, friendship was not based on sectarianism or any other personal beliefs. Our towns, schools, libraries and streets embodied harmony and forgiveness. We did not meddle in each other’s affairs and it was our diversity that united us.

Now, we are undergoing a new awakening that brings together everyone under one nation and we all have a responsibility to be aware, tolerant and kind so that we can remain united and strong.