Role Models for Baby Boomer Generation

Professor Hasan A. Yahya

A proverb says: “Tell me what you read, I tell who you are”.  This morning, it came to me the idea to write about the persons who influenced me as an intellectual person from baby boomers generation, believes in freedom, justice, and human rights. Those I read or know about through my young life as a high school student, and afterwards as a teacher and TV employee and were role models, formulating my life.  I was connected mentally and politically with five  great persons: Mao Zedong of China, Jamal Abdul-Nassir of Egypt, Che Guevara of Cuba, and Dwight Eisenhower, and John F, Kennedy of the USA. All were living in my time between 1950 to 1975.

 In 1956,  the school attended a film at Zarqa-Jordan. The film was about King Hussein of Jordan to the USA visit. When Eisenhower was president. The first time I heard about America. That memory remained in my mind and pushed me all times to  achieve my stay in life at the United States of America. It’s too strange for a 11 years old person to love America from that time.

 My mentality still follow their steps in looking to the world. Where justice, identity, and dignity are most important for people everywhere. From Mao I learned that one person can make the difference, from Jamal Abdul-Nassir I learned to be an Arab over national identity, as Jordanian by passport, or Palestinian by birth. From Guevara, I learned to stand against Capitalist exploitation of poor countries. Finally, I learned from John F. Kennedy the decision making to reach justice no matter the cost, which he paid his life for that cause.  And Eisenhower, I learned to love America.

Other personalities I admired and my life was influenced by them and play in my mind as role models, felt proud in their times and mine to know are: Martin Luther King, Muhammad Ali Klay and Malolm X, While the three were non-white, they have similar qualities of the previous persons. Other personality I was fond to read for was two western philosophers: Both British: George Bernard Shaw, and Bertrand Russell (later on the second became American). They all look for what the author was looking for in his early years, justice, identity, and dignity of human being.

While more than forty years passed on the absence of these persons, their ideas and spirit still live with the author, and show in his writings and beliefs. I did not meet any of them except Muhammad Ali Klay, the heavy weight Champ, whom I met in Kuwait, I was the program coordinator, for Kuwait TV, in 1969 where my office was close to the studio where his interview took place. The authorities in Kuwait were planning a friendly match for him, with local boxers. I asked him to sign for my one year son small book. He was young, energetic, proud, and a winner. He took the book and signed his name.  He was in fact my  role model to stand tall for difficulties of life, career, and challenges. Unfortunately, the signature was lost with the small book, after leaving Kuwait in 1982 for good.

I live in Malcolm X’s Lansing city, and graduated from Michigan State University. I knew Malcolm X through the film depicting his life, as well as his biography book tiled: Malcolm X.    

In Arabic literature, I was familiar with writings of Tawfiq al-Hakim, Taha Hussein, Mahmoud al-Aqqad, Al-Manfaluti, Ihsan Abdul-Qaddos, Ghassan Kanafani, Gibran Khalil Gibran, and Nagib Mahfouz. Special interest was  with Du’a al-Karawan of Taha Hussein, Qandil Um Hashim of Yahya Haqqi, and al-Liss wal-Kilab of Mahfouz.  Fortunately most of them were social scientists (Sociologists) influenced me to choose sociology as well as administration as my career. From Arab poets, Ahmad Shawqi, Hafiz Ibrahim, Abdul-Rahim Mahmoud, Nizar Qabbani, Abul-Qasim al-Shabbi  and Ibrahim Tuqan.

 From Old poets, Emri’ al-Qays, Tarafa bin al-Abd, Antarah bin Shaddad, abul-Ala’ al-Ma’rri, Bashar bin Burd, and Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi.

From old writers: al-Jahiz, al-Ghazali, al-Kalil bin Ahmad, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Tufail, Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd.

My background readings almost all of the above and try to be like them through life, Iam becoming an encyclopedia in almost all fields of knowledge.

My role models from religious leaders and Prophets, Jesus, Joseph,  Muhammad (PBUT) and Umar bin al-Khattab (RD).

However, other persons I liked in my young years and still like them, I grew up on two sources of media through Egyptian and American films. I was fond to see American films between (1957-1965) From actors, I still remember Victor Mature, in Samsun the Great,  Spartacus, the Slave casting Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis, Jerry Louise.  James Dean, Dean Martin, and Henri Bogart,  Rock Hudson, and John Wayne, and the cast of the serial Roots, about Black history.

Other literature and novel writers Albert Camus (al-Bu’asa’), Henrik Ebsen (The Toy),  Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace),Jean Jacquues Rousseau  Ernest Hemingway, Jean Poll Sartre, William Shakespeare,  George Bernard Shaw and series of detective Arsine Lapin.  In addition to Bertrand Russell, Karl Marx, and Karl Manheim in later years.

 From Arab actors, I was fond of Farid Shawqi, Rushdie Abaza, Umar al-Sherif, Ahmad Ramzi, Emad Hamdi, Anwar Wajdi, Abdul-Mun’im Madbuly, Ismael Yasin, Adel Imam, and Muhammad Sobhi beside many others. From Arab celebrities singers, I was fond of Arab singers, Farid al-Atrash, Muhammad Abdul-Wahhab and Abdul-Halim Hafiz. From Arab  actresses and singers, Fatin Hamamh, Shadia, Najwa fuad, Najat al-Saghira, Warda, after the unforgettable voices: Umm Kalthum, Asmahan, and Layla Murad.  

 From politicians, one in particular was a role model for me too, King Hussein of Jordan, whom I met several times during my high school years and after. He’s the only leader which I have a picture with in 1964 when I was a member in Hussein Camps which he initiated for the youth, and when was the secretary of the first Boy-Scout Committee for Zarqa District.

 These great persons in addition to the ones I wrote about them, Muhammad, Ibn Sina, Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram, Charles Darwin, and Ibn Rushd constitute the role model not only for the author but to his generation as well. Therefore they will be covered soon under: Persons I Admire series.  (1051 words) www.hasanyahya.com