PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

We all take enormous pride in our glorious past. We go out of our way to talk about the accomplishments of our great ancestors, detailing their contributions to civilization, their innovations and ingenious inventions, etc.

We also tend speak very highly of ourselves as a nation. Adamant in pointing out our magnificent attributes, which set us apart from those around us. Persistent in establishing beyond a shadow of a doubt our unique national identity.

The proof for all we say was in seeing how Lebanon rose so quickly from its colonial post WWII ruins to a first class, ultra-modern society in less than two decades, greatly distinguishing us from all others.

Yes, Lebanon was the proving exhibit for our claims. Lebanese descendants living in the U.S. and elsewhere were continuously infused with new comers from the homeland, keeping their national identification alive. Many even had the chance to visit Lebanon, returning with an overwhelming pride that compelled them to boost about their belonging to such magnificent people.

But all this is our past.

What about our present? Or, our future?

Today, that tantalizing living proof of our national existence lay in ruins under occupation. Its history is being re-written, contrary to the truth that speak. Children are being taught that their Lebanese "Myth" never really existed. The Diaspora is continuously bombarded with malicious propaganda, portrays Lebanonism as an evil which brought nothing but horror on their loved ones, while the occupiers are portrayed as the saviors - The loving brother had come to guide the disillusioned lad back into the family fold.

As sad and infuriating as this might seem, it is true. OUR NATIONAL IDENTITY IS SYSTEMATICALLY AND DILIGENTLY BEING ERASED.

If this is allowed to continue, we, as a people, will cease to exist. The Lebanese nation will disappear.

Some might say that nations do not die. However, as hard as national death may be, history is littered with nations which once existed but are no more.

How did they disappear?

Who ended their existence? THEY DID.

Nations could not be killed. They commit suicide. They simply cease to exist. The process is slow and invisible. While the individuals thrive in their new environment, they abandon the two key factors necessary to sustain a nation, KNOWLEDGE and CONNECTIVITY.

Knowledge of themselves, their people and their past.

And Connectivity to each other in such a way that would maintain a unified existence.

Without these, individuals will slowly blend into the societies in which they live, slowly losing their sense of belonging to a distant national origin, hence self-dissolving their identity. Even those few who attempt to retain their knowledge of their people and pass it on to their children will soon find themselves belonging to a historic entity that no longer exists.

As long as Lebanon existed as an independent state, it continuously projected itself onto its diaspora. It provided a physical and psychological focal point, which sustained everyone's sense of belonging. Today, the absence of such a nerve center, combined with an unrelenting drive to negate and deny our existence, we are faced with an existential dilemma, which no one is capable of individually dealing with.

We are in dire need of a national life support mechanism, which would carry us through these hard times and allow us to survive to see a brighter future.

This is not a simple task. It requires the participation and contribution of all those who share the Lebanese heritage. We must maintain an organized presence which shall continue to refute and counter all efforts to dissolve our identity. We must collectively maintain our cultural heritage and pass it on to our children and grandchildren.

Only thus will they be able to assertively and unabashedly claim their heritage.

In Lebanon, today, that might not be possible. The rulers will not tolerate any public dissention from the dictated norm. The Lebanese identity is relegated to confines of ones home. But, we live in a free country. It is then we who have the responsibility to keep the torch lit and carry it back to Lebanon when the time comes.

It would be a shame to allow seven thousand years of history end on our watch. What would future historians write about us if we do?

Cadmus