A term well-known to people in the textile industry is pre-treatment. Pre-treatment is the process which coarse cloth is put through so that it can be worked into a fine, finished product. Without pre-treatment, the cloth is not suitable for advanced treatment, and cannot reach a refined state.
For instance, the cloth needs to be dyed. But before the dye can be added, the cloth must be cleaned. This cleaning is the “pre-treatment” for dying. If the cloth is not properly cleaned in preparation for dying, the colour will run out. Besides, colour does not stand out on cloth which has not been thoroughly cleaned in advance. It is estimated that about 70% of reject cloth which comes through the mills of textile factories, has been rendered faulty by the application of dye without adequate pre-treatment of the cloth.
Initial preparation is essential in human affairs, just as it is indispensable in the textile industry. We cannot expect our initiatives to reach a successful conclusion if we do not prepare the ground for them in advance. Any move made without sufficient preparation is doomed to failure, just as the cloth which is dyed without having been pre-treated is doomed to join the reject pile.
Journalism, for example, cannot come into existence without industry and technology. If one does not possess the know-how needed to handle advanced equipment and technology, he will not be able to progress in the highly competitive world of journalism. It is not enough to gather a team of reporters and put pen to paper; one must first have access to the machinery needed to convert reports into the columns of a newspaper and the technology to disseminate it globally.
The same is true in the political arena. If a party wishes to attract votes, it must first show itself to be united. How can a party, which itself is in disarray, expect others to join its rank? The need for initial preparation is present in every walk of life, in private affairs as well as in public life. Those who seek to achieve high ideals, but do not wish to go through the initial tedium of extensive groundwork, are building sandcastles which will not be able to stand the test of time. Their ambitions are no more than flights of fantasy which will never get off the ground in the world of hard realities.
