How would you like your History: Raw, Rare or Well Done


God save us from the propagandists lest they infect the minds of our youth. So according to some we are not to have a single unified history text book but several, each party, each defacto 'confederal unit' is to have its own book, written no doubt to cover up its own crimes, its own bloody foot prints and ugly role in the civil war.

Can you imagine such a book written in the South, or one written in the North, then imagine one written in Beirut, then one written in the Bekaa. We will have a new kind of war, one which starts with a school debate and ends with mortars and rocket propelled grenades.

Have we as a nation lost our collective minds to even entertain such a notion? Do we really want to solidify the foundations of a unified nation or do we want to plant the seeds of division all over again?

The young MP Sami Gemayel had this to say (excerpt from NOW Lebanon): "Gemayel then stressed that each party should be given its share in school history books, “so that we are not deprived of mentioning the heroism of our martyrs in a state or a community that does not wish to recognize us or shed light on the glorious stages in our history."

Glorious?! I lived through that period and it was anything but. True people did fight defending their homes and families, but on the other hand each side launched bloody reprisals against the other as well. Fighters were pumped so full of drugs that they did the unthinkable. We lost, we all lost so much.

Instead of glorifying this period of history we should teach the young of the mistakes made, of the missed opportunities for peace, of the countless wrong turns. We should above all be fair and objective in our telling of history, not gloss over any part of it in order to spare feelings.

History above all is a science and as such must be based on observable facts. The facts were observed by the countless journalists and stringers on the ground, starting with the fight for the Hotels District and ending with the bombardment of the Presidential Palace and the signing of the Taif Accord.

If each party wants to put its own view point across, it may, but that view point remains just that, one view point out of many that a unified history text book has to somehow incorporate.

We either have one history, i.e. one version of history, or we can forget about having one country. We might as well divide it all up right now, as many continue to suggest. This is the most crucial test we will ever have to face as a nation.

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