A Sunday Short
The World Cup of Soccer under the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) will be played from today, November 20, 2022, to December 02, 2022, in the nation of Qatar, officially the State of Qatar. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport. Think American football may be second – actually more people follow table tennis. A total of 32 teams will be competing in the World Cup of Soccer and several western nations, including Canada and the United States, are among them.
Qatar is a small nation jutting out northwards into the Persian Gulf and its lone border to the south touches Saudi Arabia. The total area of the nation, 4,471 square miles, is slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut or less than twice the size of Prince Edward Island. Like the entire Arabian Peninsula, petroleum and natural gas are the cornerstones of Qatar’s affluent economy. Relative to income, the nation has the fourth-highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in the world
Many visitors and cheerleaders to the World Cup may wish to be fully educated in the rules, policies, and laws set down by Qatar’s Hereditary Monarchy. There are specific laws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol just anywhere, including your own hotel room, there are laws against cohabitation, and rules prohibiting LGBTQ relationships and activities. Even the display of a rainbow flag, symbolic of the LGBTQ movement, is barred.
Many will look at Qatar with their typical liberal, ego-centric, narcissistic western view and I’m confident some will endeavor to challenge Qatar’s statutes or decrees and in furtherance and conclusion, end up in jail. These are the same people that preach inclusivity, but faced with an issue outside of their pretentious belief system inclusivity is dropped faster than a pair of coveralls at quitting time.
The United States team has defiantly incorporated a rainbow flag into their team emblem. The coach of the team, Gregg Berhalter, virtue-signaled at a news conference saying, "When we are on the world stage and when we are in a venue like Qatar, it is important to bring awareness to these issues and that is what 'Be the Change' is about”. This clearly typifies the term “global arrogance”, a term used to describe the cultural and economic hegemony, smugness, or predominance of the United States over other countries.”
Those of us that are a little more prudent and much more respectful, simply understand that varying cultures have varying views, and while one might not necessarily agree with them, traversing on their lands has to be done on their terms. If one cannot see that then one should not go. It is not my intent to denigrate anyone or their personal lifestyles, but reciprocity and understanding is the genuine key to true and bona fide inclusivity.
However, to aggravate many on the progressive side of spurious eco-injustices, Qatar has the world's third-largest natural gas and oil reserves and is the planet’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide per capita. Qatar may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but economically, unlike renewable energies, traditional sources do bring wealth, stability, and a higher degree of lifestyle standards.