Lebanon: Back to the future.

[hannaalsayssa]

William M. Thompson only described what he saw and lived back in 1870, just to tell everyone how stupid the lebanese are, and how things will never change. This paragraph from his book may seem from today's world, however, it was written in description of FACTS that were taking place in 1870 (these are NOT predictions, they are facts that Thompson had observed at that time).
You may look up his book online, and find this passage around page 248 I think!! Enjoy!!!

“ Lebanon has about 400,000 inhabitants, gathered into more than six hundred towns, villages and hamlets...The various religions and sects live together, and practice their conflicting superstitions in close proximity, but the people do not coalesce into one homogeneous community, nor do they regard each other with fraternal feelings. The Sunnites excommunicate the Shiites - both hate the Druse, and all three detest the Nusairiyeh. The Maronites have no particular love for anybody and, in turn, are disliked by all. The Greeks cannot endure the Greek Catholics; all despise the Jews.

And the same remarks apply to the minor divisions of this land. There is no common bond of union. Society has no continuous strata underlying it, which can be opened and worked for the general benefit of all, but an endless number of dislocated fragments, faults, and dikes, by which the masses are tilted up in hopeless confusion, and lie at every conceivable angle of antagonism to each other. The omnific Spirit that brooded over primeval chaos can alone bring order out of such confusion, and reduce these conflicting elements into peace and concord.

No other country in the world, I presume, has such a multiplicity of antagonistic races; and herein lies the greatest obstacle to any general and permanent amelioration and improvement of their condition, character, and prospects. They can never form one united people, never combine for any important religious or political purpose; and will therefore remain weak, incapable of self-government, and exposed to the invasions and oppressions of foreigners. Thus it has been, is now, and must long continue to be a people divided, meted out, and trodden down.”

Written by W. M. Thompson in The land and the Book, 1870.

so true then
so true today

why bother sometimes to fix things i say.

[supersonichadi]

Originally Posted by hannaalsayssa

so true then
so true today

why bother sometimes to fix things i say.

It's your duty to fix these things, even if it's not working.

[elador]

even the phoenicians were never united. they formed independant city states

[Libnene Qu7]

Originally Posted by elador

even the phoenicians were never united. they formed independant city states

So were the Greeks. But by hook or by crook, they united and created a nation that affects us positively until today and for the next 1,000 years. Lebanon, however, is on the complete opposite side of this spectrum. It is a failed state and worse.

[Libnene Qu7]

Originally Posted by supersonichadi

It's your duty to fix these things, even if it's not working.

Duty? It's your duty to live a life worth living. Hence, EMIGRATE!

[Abou Sandal]

The Italians were never united until they found a solution.

The Swiss were never united until they found a solution.

.................

Yalla Henit...We're getting there...We're only divided in 2 camps nowadays...Like Spain under Franco...But without Franco *sigh*

[SamerTayyar]

I dont believe in this so called "ta3eyosh" if there are still people in Lebanon who dont even believe in its finality,

or people who would start revolutions to unite with the Arabs every now and then, or people who would jump

to call for unity with Syria once the Alawite regime falls, or people who refuse to believe that Lebanon's history

dates back to 6000 years, or people who call for Islamic khilafa like the ones in Tripoli yesterday. The biggest lie in

this country is the "ta3eyosh".

[Libnene Qu7]

Originally Posted by SamerTayyar

I dont believe in this so called "ta3eyosh" if there are still people in Lebanon who dont even believe in its finality,

or people who would start revolutions to unite with the Arabs every now and then, or people who would jump

to call for unity with Syria once the Alawite regime falls, or people who refuse to believe that Lebanon's history

dates back to 6000 years, or people who call for Islamic khilafa like the ones in Tripoli yesterday. The biggest lie in

this country is the "ta3eyosh".

I think you have extra zeroes there.

[LiNk]

Originally Posted by Abou Sandal

The Swiss were never united until they found a solution.

And that solution was neutrality, combined with tenacious inter-state solidarity.

I hope that one day we'll reach such a level of maturity. It's an unsparing task but we ought to try. For after all, perpetual longing for our country's salvation is our fated duty.

[Abou Sandal]

Originally Posted by LiNk

And that solution was neutrality, combined with tenacious inter-state solidarity.

I hope that one day we'll reach such a level of maturity. It's an unsparing task but we ought to try. For after all, perpetual longing for our country's salvation is our fated duty.

To each nation its own solution.

I don't necessarily out rule any kind of solution that guarantees a peaceful living provided it preserves a united nation.

But honestly...I don't think that the Swiss model fits that much the Lebanese formula,for many reasons, and yes, maturity being also one of them.(But then, with maturity, we might not even be in this messy situation for a start.)

I think that we're in a stage where we have only one choice, which is to push towards a central power system of State, and that any other solution might rather lead to wars and chaos and economical failure and disintegration, that will in its turn lead to having parts of the country swallowed by neighbors around us, and other parts ruled by foreign powers, all of those parts, being administered by Lebanese Mafia and underdogs.

My vision of the Lebanese State, is of a strong State, ruling over all the territory and all its citizens, and in a strongly decentralized administrative formula. Which is feasible...