The jealous Lebanese and their fragile egos

The Lebanese do not wish other Lebanese well; not really. They are consumed by jealousy. They see the success of other Lebanese as a threat to their fragile egos and will do their best to thwart their compatriot’s success, or at the very least diminish it and reduce it to insignificance. My late father used to put it thus: “In Lebanon, as you are climbing the ladder you will always find most people below you tugging at you trying to pull you down. In other countries, people who see you struggling to climb the ladder give you a boost so that when you reach the top you extend a hand and help them up also. Many in Lebanon who reach the top against the odds tend to unzip and piss on everyone below them. Can you really blame them?!”
 
As a result, most people in Lebanon rarely rise up through the socio-economic ranks unless they win the lottery or go abroad to work. Even at the very top the struggle for power and position is unrelenting and motivated solely by jealousy and covetousness. If someone tries to bring a new concept for a business to the country, or tries to develop certain areas of the country that person will always find someone powerful and rich to stand in his way and thwart all progress. As such, we have a country consumed by petty squabbles and minor skirmishes, unable or unwilling to improve or rise up from its living grave.

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