Monday, November 08, 2004

The Arafat Principle

These days it is opportune to think about the positive effects Mr. Arafat had on his people and entire Middle East. I'd like to join this honorable cause and offer an entirely new view point on Mr. Arafat's achievements.

I think Arafat's life symbolizes a deep principle, which could be an inspiration to a lot of desperate people out there:

No matter how ugly you are, you can still be rich ($800 Million, all stolen, but who cares....) and famous (Peace Nobel Price, tricked, but who cares...), if you really want to and if you are willing to pay the prize (lie, cheat, steal, torture, kill and whatever else is needed, who cares...). You can even expect to get a reasonably good looking woman enough excited to marry you, although you missed most of your dentist appointments.

The advantage of being extremely unattractive in the diplomatic field may seem counter intuitive at first. But here is a reconstructed meeting between a French government official and Mr. Arafat.

Arafat: "I need more money now to wipe out the Zionist cancer that has befallen my beloved Palestine!"
Frenchman (thinks): "Gee, I feel like kicking your butt, but then again, you are so freaking ugly, that would be like hitting a cripple. Well, so the least I can do is to ease your pain a little bit."
Frenchman (says): "Well, I think we can allocate some more money for infrastructure and education... Would 300 Million Euro do for today?"
Arafat smiles the broadest smile he can muster, and thinks: "Education, my ass!"
Frenchman (thinks): "And please use some of it for a cosmetic surgeon, if you will."

Seriously, can there be any other explanation for the continuous stream of European money into the black hole called the Palestinian Authority?

I would like to suggest calling this newly discovered principle the "Arafat Principle" of living a highly successful life.

What will Steven Covey say about this?