3DEPICSTo Those Who Mistook News for Truth
إلى من ظنّ أنّ الخبر هو الحقيقة
While the crowds argue over headlines, someone somewhere is quietly sketching tomorrow's city.
By Architect Imad DarouichUpdated 2 min read
This poem about headlines and history is addressed to anyone who mistakes the news for the truth. Every screen sells a moment and every loud headline is buried by the next, while behind them a laboratory works in silence, an engineer sketches a future city and a scientist writes an equation. Imad's question is what each of us built while everyone else was arguing.
كلُّ شاشةٍ تبيعُ لحظةً،Every screen sells a moment,
ولا تبيعُ التاريخ.But never history.
وكلُّ عنوانٍ يصرخُ اليوم،Every headline screams today,
يُدفنُ غداً تحتَ عنوانٍ آخر.Only to be buried beneath tomorrow’s.
ليستِ المشكلةُ فيما تنقلُهُ القنوات،The problem is not what channels report,
بل فيما يختارهُ الإنسانُ أن يرى.But what people choose to see.
العالمُ لا يتوقفُ لأنَّ كاميرا التفتتْ يميناً. The world does not stop because a camera turned right.
ولا ينهضُ لأنَّ مذيعاً رفعَ صوته. Nor does it rise because an anchor raised a voice.
خلفَ كلِّ خبرٍ صاخب، Behind every loud headline,
مختبرٌ يعملُ بصمت. A laboratory works in silence.
وخلفَ كلِّ جدلٍ عابر، Behind every passing controversy,
مهندسٌ يرسمُ مدينةً للمستقبل. An engineer sketches tomorrow’s city.
وخلفَ كلِّ ضجيجٍ سياسي، Behind every political storm,
عالِمٌ يكتبُ معادلةً ستغيّرُ العالم. A scientist writes an equation that may change the world.
أما الجماهيرُ… Meanwhile, the crowds…
فتتشاجرُ على ظلِّ الكلمات، Fight over the shadows of words,
بينما الزمنُ يسرقُ أعمارَها بهدوء. While time quietly steals their lives.
ليس كلُّ ما يلمعُ قضية، Not everything that shines is a cause,
وليس كلُّ ما يُخفى مؤامرة. Nor is everything unseen a conspiracy.
الحكمةُ ليست أن ترفضَ الخبر، Wisdom is not rejecting the news,
ولا أن تُقدِّسه. Nor worshipping it.
الحكمةُ أن تعرفَ حجمه، Wisdom is knowing its true size,
ثم تعودَ إلى عملك. Then returning to your work.
فالأممُ لا تُبنى بالنقاشاتِ وحدها، Nations are not built by debates alone,
بل بما يُنجَزُ بعد انتهاء النقاش. But by what is accomplished after they end.
وفي النهاية… In the end…سيبقى السؤالُ الوحيد: Only one question remains:
ماذا صنعتَ أنتَ بينما كان الجميعُ يتجادلون؟ What did you build while everyone else was arguing?
بقلم المهندس المعماري عماد درويشBy Architect Imad Darouich · New York
For more on noise, screens and meaning, read The Epic of the Kingdom of Likes and The Epic of Digital Resurrection, both in the human story collection.
Written by
بقلم المهندس المعماري عماد درويش
Architect and author based in New York. He writes contemporary epics: long-form books about architects, buildings, cities and faith, in Arabic and English.