After working in the branch that exposes us to all strata of society here is my conclusion:

1) Wealth

2) Wealth

3) Wealth

And why do I say that! Look around you, young girls as young as 23 marrying old farts at 70 something are you trying to tell me its true love! I would sooner believe a snowball has a chance of surviving hells inferno than believing that we live in a meritocracy!

The values of our Jordanian society have been affected with some distortion. There were days, not very far away, were our society valued family, ethics, shahameh, neighbourhood, kindness and humbleness. Money was not everything, and the greatness of a person was in his/her good deeds. Education and hard work were valued because of the urge to be better people and bring pride to ourselves and our families. Not to get certificates for better jobs and thus more money.

It was a different flavour, and we are a generation that lived both those days and these current days of lost identity...values got mixed, motives got mixed, and honestly, I can't tell if there could be a consensus of what our society values most anymore...our society is a teen ager again, looking for identity.

I think first and foremost are connections, then wealth and education. Reminds me of this joke/statement:

If you asked a Japanese person who they are, they start by talking about the company they work for. If you asked an American, they would start with their job, Accountant, Lawyer...etc. If you asked an Arab, they would start with their family name. :)