http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948 People traveling through Middle East report that most Arabs <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=10499063&fsrc=nwlptwfree">feel disgruntlement and doubt</a>. "If you are old, the place where you live is likely to have changed so much that little seems friendly and familiar. If you are young, years of rote learning in dreary state schools did not prepare you well for this new world. In your own country you have few rights. Travel abroad and they take you for a terroris en-us Mon, 14 Jan 2008 06:56:12 EST Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:38:03 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948#10 I have little doubt that freedom from external rulers makes enormous difference in development prospects, but South Korea and Taiwan were for many years as in thrall to US military as any Middle East country with arguable current exception of Iraq. Yet the Thu, 17 Jan 2008 13:38:03 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948#9 Russian male life expectancy has dropped to 60 years.  The economy is still in very bad shape, despite being much better than it was a few years ago, when it was in the midst of the post-Soviet depression.  The political influence of Russia isn't Thu, 17 Jan 2008 00:56:55 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948#8 Unhappiness can be inherited.  <p> The Arab states have all had a number of historical events that shape theri modern identity.  Beyond religion, one coul dpoint to the Mongol invasion as formative for the Arab states.  <p> The Arabs wee nom Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:30:59 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948#7 Russia may not be land of sweetness and light (especially "light", especially during winter), but it has raised living standards substantially during last few years and has more international influence now than at any time except during height of Soviet em Tue, 15 Jan 2008 10:04:27 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948#6 Ah, yes, one wonders why the Arabs can't be more like Russia, <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E5DE143CF93BA35755C0A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all">land of sweetness and light</a>.  Perhaps a good <a href="h Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:52:00 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948#5 Social change must certainly come if Arab states and people will have any chance to advance. Efforts to hold onto past must be seen as futile (old Arabs don't recognise their countries anyway), as ridiculous as attempting to stop tide from coming in. Chang Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:50:44 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948#4 I agree, but in addition, with these reforms from a religious angle, a certain degree of social change must also occur.  In many ways, we saw this happen with Turkey when it became the state as envisioned by Kamal Ataturk.  <p> The Koran and the Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:42:38 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948#3 Yes, you make a good point.  Even without abandoning Islam, Arabs could accomplish a great deal by reforming Islam.  It is quite true that religion, despite its vast potential for intolerance and destructive conflicts, can also be quite harmless Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:41:32 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948#2 People won't really "let go of their cherished old traditional beliefs and take a more practical approach to the necessities of the modern world" in Arab world any more than in US. What Arab world therefore needs desperately might well be called "Reformati Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:20:44 EST http://www.treesandthings.com/story/2008/1/11/111621/948#1 All of those are significant problems for Arabs, and there are others as well. Being (in their own self-estimation) the world's most enlightened people, who have the enormous advantage of following the world's one and only True Religion (Islam) they natura Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:55:56 EST string http://www.treesandthings.com/search/