THE forces that weaken the prestige of any given country are not always from the outside. They are actually from within the society and have a major role in destabilizing the community and even inciting others to conspire against the State.

This happens especially when the aggravators find other forces to back them. This is due to the fact that the basis of the disease is making wrong choices, and non-agreement on a single opinion.

Testimony to this is an old story about how things turn out when those in power struggle over the decision. It is one of the lessons that all leaders in a country must think about.

Once upon a time, there was a fox that had the habit of invading a chicken farm and committing a massacre. This continued until the roosters decided to do something about it and put a stop to these murders.

The roosters – red, black and white – sat down together to determine the best way of dealing with the aggressions of the fox. However, they could not agree on one opinion.

The red one suggested attacking the fox inside his den using the element of surprise. The black rooster suggested ambushing him while he was attempting to hunt. The white one suggested a peace agreement between the chickens and the fox.

The fox learned of this dispute, and he decided to send the crow to meet the roosters individually.

The crow went to the red rooster and said to him, “You are the most honorable and bravest among the roosters. Element of surprise is the peak of defense, and your two friends are traitors, so the solution begins with killing them.”

The crow then met the black rooster, and said to him, “Keep your words in mind, for defense is like attack, so do not blame him. As for reconciliation, it is a clumsy idea, and whoever proposes the same does not deserve to live.”

The crow then met the white rooster, and praised his suggestion to reconcile and make peace with the fox. He assured him that the fox will cooperate to consolidate peace between the chickens and the fox. However, for that to happen, the crow said the white rooster must ensure the red and the black chicken perish because they have destructive minds.

Therefore, the fox, through the crow, was able to stir up discord among the chickens. After several days, a fight broke out between the three roosters, and the crowd dispersed. The fox hence settled down, and he lived for a while eating chicken.

Countries are no different from the jungle. Everyone seeks control, and all have their own methods, but most of them are subject to collapse, if they work contrary to what is customary in the executive management of any state.

In this regard, the fourth guided Islamic Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib was asked, “What spoils the affairs of people?”

He said, “Three factors - putting the young in the place of the old, putting the ignorant in the place of the scholar, and putting the follower in the leadership position.”

He added, “Woe to a nation whose money is with its misers, and its swords are in the hands of its cowards, young and rulers.”

When the words of Caliph Ali bin Abi Talib actualize, corruption spreads in the state. This is due to the fact that miserliness is the cause of all ills, as it paves way to looting.

As for bribery, it magnifies the corrupt in his power and the eyes of the public. Harming people is taken for granted, and so the jails of the security services are crowded with innocent people who are falsely accused, especially those who talk about corruption or work to expose them publicly, and even those who advise from behind curtains.

They are all framed because foxes seek to eat the chickens of the state’s public money and dominate its decision. When corruption prevails in society, the treatments become strange, even if they are painful surgeries.

In recent days, we have seen a lot about the Central Prison, where no matter how hard the hand of reform tries to strike, there are some who conspire with the white rooster in order to reconcile with the foxes of drugs, and smuggle mobile phones and drugs into prison, as well as facilitate the entry of white weapons into the cells.

The fact is that the criminal uses it against other prisoners, as well as the prison guards because a person with a heavy sentence has almost nothing to lose.

Likewise, we have seen people who are held accountable if they reveal certain things, or photograph some things, while in other countries, they are offered a reward.

In the United States, Britain, and even some Arab countries, there are individuals who provide assistance in solving the cases they are involved in, and if they are found guilty, their sentences get reduced or they get light sentences.

There are many countries that were lost because they did not work with those principles. The Umayyad Dynasty collapsed when the young were placed in the place of the old, the enemy was brought closer to power, and the loyal ones were expelled because they were considered a threat.

In modern countries, when the foxes of the Lebanese parties and leadership prevailed, the state plundered, its people starved, and it fell into the confusion of factions and sects. The same was the case in the Soviet Union when the ignorant were placed in the positions of the learned.

By Ahmed Al-Jarallah

Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times