Beginnings

In an Utopian world I imagine Lebanon as the center of all that matters. That's simply because I have lived in it long enough to know that this is how the people feel about themselves, and that perhaps there is some validity to their claims of grandiosity.

Every thing has stepped into the soils of Lebanon. Interestingly, before ever being inhabited it was simply a swamp. Now its mountains and cities draw lines across the imagined maps and borders of the country indicating the extent of past influences on the countries present. Our diversity is inevitably ingrained in our geography.

Oh, but do not think its all sun shine, beaches, and mountains. Lebanon is as much the center of our Destopia as it is our Utopia. The past is filled with such vibrancy and energy that reads into the present. But today's sectarianism is a product of a clearly defined inability to match differing peoples needs, ideologies, and interests, which is not solely a product of a diversified past, as much as it is a challenging present projecting its expectations onto a demanding future.


Some say it's purely political. Thus the reason Lebanon in my opinion should be at the center of our Utopian world is that even though this political machine seeps down into everything, the people of the country have managed to represent their commonalities in the faintest of friendships and interactions.

The divisions of today are not an indication that Lebanon is and will forever be divided, Lebanese were calmly living together prior to the civil-war and one day will calmly live happily again post-sectarian conflict. I have a friend who firmly believes that historians 50 years from now will state confidently that the civil-war did not end until, well until something is done about sectarianism.

I'm not a politician, thus my objective is not to shed light on the political, though it feeds into the dynamics I discuss, my objective is to shed light on everything else. The culture, the day-to-day movements and interactions that make up such a complex country; they are beyond intriguing: they are magical.

Of course I say this with a grain of salt, Lebanese lack the motivational skills to excel or progressively improve upon what Samir Kassir called the Arab malaise. Like many Arab countries, Lebanon is stuck in a rut and cannot progress comfortably without care and unadvantageous needed assistance, which is no where to be found. Thus they live as if living were the only objective, rather then movement or progress as seeping into their hopes and daily doings.

My biggest wish is that this may change, but the realities of today dictate otherwise, and like I said, I'm writing only with the objective of shedding light on people and life, I'm not isolating my perspective on the baggage that comes with being Lebanese, but it's definitely there, and boy does it stink.

Here is to smelling something a little brighter than garbage!