Navigation is not just a science taught in universities or a technical skill used to determine directions and paths, but at its core, it reflects the state of stability or turmoil in the lives of societies and nations. When roads are clear and signals precise, life flows smoothly. However, when meanings are muddled or signals disrupted, anxiety begins and uncertainty spreads.
About five decades ago, on my way home from school (Martyr Faisal II College in Abdali) to my house, a simple incident caught my eye but remained etched in my memory. There was a traffic sign written with "Detour", placed by the traffic management in collaboration with (formerly the municipality of the capital) Greater Amman Municipality to regulate traffic flow and direct drivers towards alternative routes. Yet, someone, perhaps out of mischief or humor,
changed the letter "و" to "م"
transforming the word "تحويلة" from a guiding traffic sign into a confusing and unusual formulation.
The scene was striking; drivers slowing down and others stopping for a moment trying to understand the intent, some asking the traffic police, and a brief confusion affecting traffic flow. A minor crisis created by a simple alteration of a single letter, yet it wasn’t long before the mistake was corrected and traffic returned to normal.
This incident, despite its simplicity, reveals a much deeper truth that when a signal is disrupted, so too is the path, regardless of the duration.
Today's world no longer faces signal disruptions with ink or paint but, regrettably, often with bullets. The strategic maritime passageways, especially "Strait of Hormuz", represent vital arteries for the global economy and the security of energy and international trade; any tension or military escalation in these areas not only disrupts maritime navigation but imposes a new reality on states, markets, and societies.
On terrestrial roads, an alternative "Detour" can be created, and in the skies, flight paths can be rescheduled, but in some narrow sea passages like (the Arabian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean), the only route to the world stage, there are no easy or quick alternatives. Disruption here is not merely a technical issue but translates into a factor affecting commodity prices, energy rates, and the levels of economic, security, and social stability within nations.
From this perspective, maintaining freedom of navigation becomes a shared international responsibility, requiring political wisdom and prioritizing dialogue over forceful measures. History teaches us that crises that start geographically limited might expand their effects to encompass the entire world, especially in an era of economic and technological interconnectivity.
These challenges also raise a deeper question about the fragility of international balances and the global system’s ability to contain crises before they become unchangeable realities. When "forced signals" are imposed on trade and energy movement, not only the major countries are affected but also the impact extends to societies and individuals in their daily lives.
(((And because politicians are well aware that not everything read is written.
It's conceivable that there is an undisclosed American interest in keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed for a limited time as a strategic pressure tool capable of pushing oil prices toward $200 a barrel and perhaps more. This price spike could provide the United States with sufficient pretext to persuade European leaders to stop their military and financial support for Ukraine, and to comply with Russian terms for ending the war, within the previously undisclosed American-Russian understandings. By this scenario, Russia commits to staying out of the political and military scene in the Middle East permanently, leaving the United States and Israel to complete the reshaping of the regional map and achieve full control over energy resources (oil and gas), which coincides with my vision in the previous article about the energy keys in the Mediterranean basin))))!!.
This scene reminds us that an awareness of major concepts like trajectory, guidance, and direction is part of building the collective mind and its ability to read transformations and understand their implications.
Linguistically, the letter remains the true unit of meaning, capable of shaping or distorting understanding just as major events shape the contours of post-contemporary history, (and here, it is necessary to pause at the term "contemporary history" which began after World War II, and shaping and forming what is post-contemporary might be the most dangerous).
The (comparison) or juxtaposition between a letter that disrupts terrestrial navigation and a bullet that obstructs global maritime navigation is not just a rhetorical metaphor but an invitation to think about the nature of the changes the world is experiencing today; small details might be early indicators of larger crises, and hasty decisions may alter paths that are difficult to correct later.
Thus, after five decades, the lesson remains valid that the letter and the bullet, despite their different sizes and means, are capable of disrupting the scene and hindering navigation, and changing direction... but more importantly, altering the very essence itself.
