Let us keep hope alive and take some risks
I would first like to thank Ogero for the amazing ADSL internet experience this evening, the first and only time I watched uninterrupted streaming video at speeds that reached 36mbps. Whatever you are doing keep it up; I hope the new faster internet applies to all parts of the country. This shows what the Lebanese can do when they set their mind to it.
Now for a national critique:
A friend told me recently that she had long given up on Lebanon and the Lebanese ever changing their old, bad habits, that she has learned to live with what she cannot change. Others said they retain the option to leave at their discretion, i.e. when things get really bad or they cant take it any more, to board a flight to their second homeland, wherever that may be.
For the lucky few, it could be off to Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, the world seems infinite. For the poor, there’s always the Gulf. But it’s when we reach that point of hopelessness, a point when we reluctantly submit to and accept an unsavory reality as being inherently unchangeable that we loose the battle without even trying.
In my criticism I do not aim to lower national morale or to promote self loathing, my only aim is to keep hope alive that change is possible no matter what the practical and logical conformists tell you. I know its good business, and media is our business, to ‘go with the flow’, generally speaking, to pander to society’s petty prejudices, no matter how personally unsavory they might appear. But being silent in our country at this point in its history is a crime, it’s that simple.
One voice on its own can be silenced easily, even a thousand can be systematically rounded up and crushed, but that does not mean one person should not dare to be the first voice out of a million to be heard.
We are hard nosed business people, but we are also fun loving, and we keep a hawk’s eye out for the latest fashion trends because we are terrified of appearing different from the crowd. We care deeply what other people think of us to the point it becomes our central preoccupation and obsession. We put up a macho front but we are fragile and afraid on the inside, not to mention psychologically battered and tenderized.
We are constantly obsessed with flattery, both giving it and receiving it. Some local television programs make flattery their bread and butter. We can be cruel in our judgment of others. We have no room in our hearts or minds for anyone who is even slightly different or unusual in behavior or dress. In that regard we are a nation that admires conformists and the competitive spirit that ‘fits the mold’.
You want to open another Lebanese restaurant, ahlan wa sahlan, banks’ doors will open before you and money will rain upon you. You want to pioneer a revolutionary new business model, expect a patronizing pat on the back and muted snickering behind your back as you leave the room.
We want people to run on the same track and to race to one finish line, but we do not want people to devise their own finish line, their own goals, carve out their own path in life, and dare to do what no one else of our tribe has ever done before.
Faced with a passionate revolutionary who wants to change the world, we offer up the refrain of last resort: ou minak int, ma ghayrak kan ashtar (who are you, others better than you tried). It is as if we must live life to a strict recipe and never dare to change any of the ingredients, never take a risk or open ourselves up to failure. Well, I have a surprise for you, if you never risk anything you never learn from mistakes that you will never make, you never grow, or evolve, or improve, or become more competitive. The biggest failure in life is to wake up at 40 and realize you are one of the safest people on planet Earth.
My personal political preference aside, but one Lebanese group that has found strength in unity and solidarity and made a huge leap forward for their people is Hezbollah. What we see as superficial external show of strength and muscle flexing exercises in rallying huge numbers of supporters, mask’s Hezbollah’s true strength. Its real strength lies in its people, its core community of Shiite Lebanese.
Lebanese society pre-1975 was cruel to the Shiite Muslims, they were disenfranchised for the most part and as a reaction to that treatment, Mousa el Sadr established Haraket el Mahrumeen (The Movement of the Deprived) later to become the Amal Movement, out of which evolved Hezbollah. In the face of Israeli aggression, they fought like lions with nothing to loose and everything to gain, they took a risk, did what had never been done before, stood up as a non-state actor to the ‘invincible enemy’ and defeated him. In doing so, they gained the whole world.
Men’s achievements are not measured by the treasure in their vaults, or the territory they conquer and rule over, or the possessions they have, it is measured by the lives they influence and change, the ideas they spawn, and the risks they inspire others to take.
Now for a national critique:
A friend told me recently that she had long given up on Lebanon and the Lebanese ever changing their old, bad habits, that she has learned to live with what she cannot change. Others said they retain the option to leave at their discretion, i.e. when things get really bad or they cant take it any more, to board a flight to their second homeland, wherever that may be.
For the lucky few, it could be off to Canada, Australia, France, New Zealand, the world seems infinite. For the poor, there’s always the Gulf. But it’s when we reach that point of hopelessness, a point when we reluctantly submit to and accept an unsavory reality as being inherently unchangeable that we loose the battle without even trying.
In my criticism I do not aim to lower national morale or to promote self loathing, my only aim is to keep hope alive that change is possible no matter what the practical and logical conformists tell you. I know its good business, and media is our business, to ‘go with the flow’, generally speaking, to pander to society’s petty prejudices, no matter how personally unsavory they might appear. But being silent in our country at this point in its history is a crime, it’s that simple.
One voice on its own can be silenced easily, even a thousand can be systematically rounded up and crushed, but that does not mean one person should not dare to be the first voice out of a million to be heard.
We are hard nosed business people, but we are also fun loving, and we keep a hawk’s eye out for the latest fashion trends because we are terrified of appearing different from the crowd. We care deeply what other people think of us to the point it becomes our central preoccupation and obsession. We put up a macho front but we are fragile and afraid on the inside, not to mention psychologically battered and tenderized.
We are constantly obsessed with flattery, both giving it and receiving it. Some local television programs make flattery their bread and butter. We can be cruel in our judgment of others. We have no room in our hearts or minds for anyone who is even slightly different or unusual in behavior or dress. In that regard we are a nation that admires conformists and the competitive spirit that ‘fits the mold’.
You want to open another Lebanese restaurant, ahlan wa sahlan, banks’ doors will open before you and money will rain upon you. You want to pioneer a revolutionary new business model, expect a patronizing pat on the back and muted snickering behind your back as you leave the room.
We want people to run on the same track and to race to one finish line, but we do not want people to devise their own finish line, their own goals, carve out their own path in life, and dare to do what no one else of our tribe has ever done before.
Faced with a passionate revolutionary who wants to change the world, we offer up the refrain of last resort: ou minak int, ma ghayrak kan ashtar (who are you, others better than you tried). It is as if we must live life to a strict recipe and never dare to change any of the ingredients, never take a risk or open ourselves up to failure. Well, I have a surprise for you, if you never risk anything you never learn from mistakes that you will never make, you never grow, or evolve, or improve, or become more competitive. The biggest failure in life is to wake up at 40 and realize you are one of the safest people on planet Earth.
My personal political preference aside, but one Lebanese group that has found strength in unity and solidarity and made a huge leap forward for their people is Hezbollah. What we see as superficial external show of strength and muscle flexing exercises in rallying huge numbers of supporters, mask’s Hezbollah’s true strength. Its real strength lies in its people, its core community of Shiite Lebanese.
Lebanese society pre-1975 was cruel to the Shiite Muslims, they were disenfranchised for the most part and as a reaction to that treatment, Mousa el Sadr established Haraket el Mahrumeen (The Movement of the Deprived) later to become the Amal Movement, out of which evolved Hezbollah. In the face of Israeli aggression, they fought like lions with nothing to loose and everything to gain, they took a risk, did what had never been done before, stood up as a non-state actor to the ‘invincible enemy’ and defeated him. In doing so, they gained the whole world.
Men’s achievements are not measured by the treasure in their vaults, or the territory they conquer and rule over, or the possessions they have, it is measured by the lives they influence and change, the ideas they spawn, and the risks they inspire others to take.
Comments
Post a Comment