TO BE OR NOT TO BE

Politics or Cultural Survival

 "To be or not to be," so eloquently stated by William Shakespeare, is precisely the existential question facing the Lebanese today.

As Lebanon slips further down the road of political non-existence, we find ourselves pondering our future and wondering what will become of us. Will our national identity survive? Will our children and grand children be Lebanese? Or, will their identity be so distant from ours that they will not even comprehend our present dilemma?

In pondering our national survival we find ourselves tackling a more fundamental tenet of life. Namely, what does it take for a nation to survive?

As for all nations a distinctive cultural identity lies at the core of Lebanon. This melange of history, traditions, descendency and social character serves as the beating heart which sustains our national existence.

Our national character is a result of a multitude of historical events and developments, which over the millennia shaped our national psych into what it is today. Our social characteristics, values and beliefs all derive directly from the experiences of our forefathers through the ages.

It is not with each other that we identify, nor with a country a government or a political leader. Rather a life style and a social character that derive from a common heritage, and thousands of years of history bind us together into a nation. Our national affiliation amounts to little more than a cultural identification with a traditional descendency and a way of life. 

Without this a historical legacy to sustain such consciousness, we will no longer be Lebanese.

Thus, the permanency of Lebanon's political submergence depends primarily upon the ability to dilute and dissolve Lebanese cultural affiliation. For as long as we retain awareness of our ancestral reality we remain true to our national heritage, rendering all else temporary and passing.

Thus, in an effort to separate us from our past and hence deprive us from our social strength and ability to build an independent future, enormous resources are devoted towards our cultural alteration. In so doing they aim to render us irrevocably dependent on their approval in the future and subservient to their wishes and interests.

Many public and official events are staged towards the creation of imported realities which bare no relation to local historical facts. As such all aspects not conforming to the new image are claimed to be foreign and imposed, shunning all those who identify with these aspects as aliens to the society. By denying their historical legitimacy, the survival potential of these cultural attributes is greatly diminished.

However abhorrent, such measures fail to alter our knowledge of ourselves. For it is not from books and official proclamations that we acquire our identity. Rather our essential characteristics are primarily derived from our family and immediate social surroundings regardless of the official portrayal of who we should or should not be.

Cultural traditions are acquired through our interaction with those we love, admire and trust. Our parents, relatives and friends induce in us values and beliefs. Those, conduits of cultural heritage continue to overshadow all other sources of information. So long as we continue to live our culture, our children and grandchildren will inevitably acquire the same values and beliefs we practice, hence assuring our national identity.

Regardless of the cleverness of the official propaganda machine and the endless manufactured "historical facts" supporting it, when it conflicts with traditional knowledge of history, it fails to alter our beliefs. For who should we believe more, our forefathers' accounts of events they lived or an outsiders' rendition.

If we believe the later, would we not be in effect accusing our forefathers of lying?

If we believe that our heritage and way of life are alien and imposed, would we not be in effect denying our right to be who we are?

If we believe that our heritage and lineage never existed, would we not be in effect denying our very existence?

Since people can not be molded into a new social character through force, and given the marginal success of public indoctrinations on cultural identity, we must be lured into voluntarily abandoning our culture and denouncing our heritage.

It is in this light that cultural traditions are politicized, in an effort to cloud the issue with an atmosphere of controversy thus leading us to avoid public displays of our culture in order to escape confrontation.

It follows that any mention of heritage is swiftly transformed into a controversial debate. All cultural activities become a point of contention shrouded with negativism. All nationally unique social characteristics are denounced as divisive and politically motivated. And conflicts are interjected at every possible opportunity, to dissuade us from further actions. Even talk of our well being is branded offensive, and draws a heated derision.

This of course is done in the name of friendship and brotherly coexistence. In return for friendship we are asked to denounce our forefathers' legacy and abandon our heritage. Our mere existence becomes the price for coexistence. Otherwise we will have to endure incessant unpleasantness and controversy and be the target of character defamation and insults. Any one not conforming to the official norms of behavior is shunned as an isolationists troublemaker, incapable of "coexisting".

The aim is to establish distasteful associations with all things Lebanese. Thus, leading us to voluntarily distance ourselves from our essence to avoid such unpleasantries. By suppressing our cultural attributes and adopting other characteristics our knowledge of ourselves begins to fade. Since we learn our culture from our daily interactions, the coming generations will be deprived from such knowledge.

I search of an evasive friendship and under the pretence of building a better future, we abandon our past. And since we are the result of our past, we will in essence have forfeited our national existence and our future.

If a request to suppress our cultural identity in the name of friendship comes from those who do not accept or respect the legitimacy of our heritage, it is not friendship they intend.

If requested to adopt a different cultural identity to facilitate coexistence comes from those who deny our independent existence, it is not coexistence they seek.

In fact their objective is to separate you from you roots in order to facilitate their efforts to dilute and eliminate our existence and replace it with their dreams.

If we value our heritage and respect the legacy of our forefathers, then we must sustain the values and traditions they handed down to us, and build upon their accomplishments. Any friend we may lose for doing so, never were a friend to start with. For a friend who does not accept us for what we are is not our friend, but a wolf in sheep's clothing, befriending us to get close enough to devour us.