A march of broken hearts

This Wednesday, two years will have passed since an explosion ripped through Beirut's heart, killing the architect of post war Lebanon, and rendering the personal lives of sectarian leaders difficult, albeit their political choices a lot easier.

This post will not regurgitate past opinions about what is at stake for the country.

Put aside our political struggle for a moment. Forget, for the purpose of what I will ask next, that Lebanon is a political pie up for grabs by regional and international powers.

Put aside politics and tell me. On Wednesday, when the Sunni, the Druze, the Christian and the Shia walk hand in hand demonstrating political unity against the Shia, the Christian, the Sunni and some Druze and regional agents—when this political showdown and commemoration of massacres materialize in hordes of flag-waving people, will there be change?

Will we have taken a step towards true freedom? And I am not referring to the freedom from ideological and political occupiers.

Will those demonstrating hold their individualism above their loyalties to the parents' sects? Will the flag they feel is patriotically theirs more than others'-- will it christen them free individuals?

Some who did not grow up in Lebanon, or who forgot what choices our society demands of us, may not appreciate the timing of this post-- what with what is at stake, and the degeneration of the country into a developing war zone. Even this blogger had picked sides, and wasn't ashamed of pitting the struggle against regional foes that have to be defeated before the battle is won.

But my fellow compatriots who will wave the flag that supposedly adorn our hearts-- are they agents of change or mere soldiers in a transient battle against an easy enemy?

Now that we've marched against that enemy on more than one occasion, will we be able to march for our freedom?

At the end of the day, will the political alliance driving the hordes lead to social freedom?

When the night falls and emotions subside, will Christians and Muslims travel back on the same road, or will each take a different but familiar road?

Will the flag-bearers from each side of the cement wall see in one another not just a political ally, but a human being with whom a social contract can be made?

Our leaders are great in forging and breaking alliances, and our religious dictators are masters at chanting national unity.

But will there be freedom to choose one's own path in life?

Will they "love life" as they say they do? Or is that just another smart but redundant slogan in a country that embraces religious discrimination?

Will the Sunni love life and move to Kesrouane? Will the Maronites love life and feel comfortable owning a house in Basta? Will the Shia marry the Sunni, and the Sunni marry the Druze?

If not, then what the hell is the point? Tomorrow, there will be another enemy, and another battle, and our hearts will break again.

Comments

[Kody]

How do you mend a broken heart?

Does time heal all wounds?

I promised my self unlike my siblings that i would never visit my country of birth until it was free of the Syrians, free from the Israelis, free from pregudice , free from internal bickering, free from injustice, until it was a land just for the Lebanese. I am 38 now, and 33 years in exile, not having seen my grand parents, my relatives, not having re traced my footsteps on lebanese land!

When will my exile end???????

[Jay]

There will be violence. The opposition will send their followers waving yellow and orange flags, but remain otherwise non-violent. Some loyalists will get pissed off and attack them. Al Manar will be there to film it. March 14 is full of idiots when it comes to handling their PR, so the opposition will easily get away with something like this.

[R]

I am afraid that the answer to most of your questions is resoundingly pessimistic... Which makes your last question "what is the point" so much more relevant. I don't know what the point is. I just hope that one day there may be one. And that what is being done today will help...

[manar]

the point is that we seem to have given up, because we simply haven't decided what it is we want.

change the system we are part of. and change the language we use. calling the other "enemy" and then bemoaning the notion that "enemies" exist is contradictory.

until that day comes, all else is moot.

[LebExile]

Kody - you're right, March 14 people are very short tempered and easily offended - however, even an agent provocateur can cause a melee - or full blown civil disturbance.

I wouldn't put it past the Syrians to send in a few Mukhabarat - dressed as LF members (probably carrying LF flags even) to start something.

[ghassan karam]

These ruminations are not those of a pessimist but instead they are the reflections of a realist, they are well grounded in an accurate assessment of facts on the grounds, they are based on the true state of the Lebanese architecture. Any other assessment, and we have seen many of them are based on wishful thinking at best. No productive solution will ever materialize when based on unrealistic suppositions and plainly wrong assumptions. Models, in any field of endeavour, must describe reality otherwise they become an exercise in futility.
Unfortunately this has been a major ailment of the Lebanese disease. No ability for self reflection, a total disregard for introspection and an uncanny commitment to deny the truth. As long as we refuse to live in denial then the process of healing cannot begin. For starters we need to reduce and possibly eliminate the obsession of always waiting for others to save us from ourselves.Then we need to get rid of empty slogans and adopt meaningful policies that separate the sacred from the secular. The country needs citizens and not followers. A good start will be to observe the second anniversary of the assassination of Mr. Harriri without cannonizing him . It is time that we stand against assassinations and not an assassination. Let us start by removing these humongous pictures of Mr. Harriri and let us see if we can start building a civil society free of foreign tutelage of all sorts. Will we ever make any meaningful progress in that direction is dubious at best but that does not mean that we stop trying.At times quixotic behaviour is an indication of the moral strength of the human spirit. This is such a time as long as we find the courage to admit that the windmill is likely to win in the short run.

[Solomon2]

Will the Sunni love life and move to Kesrouane? Will the Maronites love life and feel comfortable owning a house in Basta? Can the Shia marry the Sunni, and the Sunni marry the Druze?

Perhaps these things can happen if people choose their principles first, rather than what side they are on. Then - and this is really the key step - they can regroup and create new "sides" of their own, cutting across even sectarian barriers. After all, where was March 14 before Hariri was killed?

The problem with that, I suppose, is that sectarianism is built into the Lebanese system. If reform appears impossible, then perhaps an entirely new system needs to be built. That's what happened in the United States of America, as follows:

I'll begin my explanation with a shocking statement: Everything you read in the history books is wrong, because the American Revolution did not happen in 1776. The real American Revolution happened in 1787.

That's because the Articles of Confederation that united the thirteen states from 1776 to 1789 did little other than restore the situation that existed before the accession of George III to the British crown. George III tried to turn back the clock by taxing the colonies and asserting his authority, so the colonies dumped him. But the Confederation did not work very well without a monarch at the top; it lacked the power and especially the money to carry out the duties specified in the Articles themselves, and was powerless when individual states appealed for help.

Some people even suggested (plotted?) to make George Washington king, but he would have none of it:
I am much at a loss o conceive what part of my conduct could have given encouragement to an address which to me seems big with the greatest mischiefs that can befall my Country. If I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself, you could not have found a person to whom your schemes are more disagreeable...

Lacking any other candidate, this possible coup attempt failed.

The Continental Congress finally invited states to send delegates to a Convention "for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation". The Philadelphia Convention of 1787 created the U.S. government in essentially the same form it exists today.

However, although the Continental Congress called for the Convention that created the Confederation, the delagates did not send the Constitution for unanimous approval by the States, as the Articles required, because they suspected some states would be stubborn and recalcitrant. Instead, they called for the Constitution to be ratified by individual, popularly elected conventions in each state, and simply declared that it would take effect once two-thirds of the states approved.

By their call to ignore the Articles of Confederation, the delegates themselves broke the law, and in America's embrace of the Constitution, the entire nation - not just the bosses of the state legislatures and rapacious western land-grabbers - became revolutionaries. Bereft of popular support and interest, the Continental Congress quietly faded out before George Washington was inaugurated as president.

We Americans were lucky in that we had it easy; we kicked the butt of an incompetent would-be dictator first, then had the time and security to work out our own system, afterwards; Even so, without the honor and grace of George Washington, these things might never have happened. Lebanon is suffering from the grip of cruelly confident tyrants of proven competence, so Lebanese have a harder task than the Americans did.

Yet perhaps the U.S. example can provide some helpful insight. The creation of March 14th and the desire for political unity between Shia, Sunni, Christian, and Druze - do they not signify progress? What will be the next step for you to take?

[BadVilbel]

If I had to guess, I'd say the answer to your question is "No". People will remain first and foremost loyal to their sect.