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As we witness our country regress into previously unimaginable lows, I wonder, what does the future hold for us.
Specifically, what’s in store for the proverbial human sponges of this era, the little ones absorbing every single drop of edited history in the making.
I say edited to avoid saying words like engineered, falsified, fabricated, well you get the idea.
So what’s gonna happen with all those kids carefully listening & watching?
I’d bet the mortgage and a whole lot of possessions they’ll grow to become very much like us. And if you’re one to read into the recent scary spike of sectarian-based dislike, disdain, hatred, execration, loathing, abhorrence, abomination, contempt, odium -Google is my friend too-, if you’re one to read into those recent occurrences, you’d probably come to the conclusion that today’s castaway children will be worse off than we are today.
Growing up, I didn’t recall people around me ever caring about religions or sects. I’ve been around people who sang for Hakeem, honked for el General (and sexy babes in tiny bikinis offering cheap car washes for Charity), people who clapped for Berri, some that coined catchphrases for the eyes of Hariri, and others that baked killer brownies and invited Walid Jumblatt over.
But there were very little references of direct sectarian hate.
It’s different today.
I’ve seen people calling for boycotting certain businesses because they belong to someone from a certain sect/religion, and as an auto-assumption, belonging to a certain political current that represents that sect/religion.
Here’s a quick Lebanon 101 for those who need it. Our system of governance says we have to share power according to certain criteria.
I thought to myself, would an outsider know these criteria, I bet they won’t!
So I asked strangers about it and sure enough, they did not know. I got answers ranging from abilities to qualifications to experience to popular representation.
All worthy components of a selection process in a normal country.
Of course, and you saw that coming, we the Lebanese do not have a normal country. Not because it’s abnormal -and it is abnormal- but because it’s only vaguely a country.
We, the Lebanese, have COLLECTIVELY agreed that as a form of governance, there is a lot more weight to your sect than you abilities, qualifications, experience, or popular representation.
Let’s revisit what belonging to a certain sect means: Being accidentally born into that sect.
I stress born into because under the same system of governance, switching sects or religions means infiltration to some and treason to others, and either of those outcomes effectively makes the person upgrading his or her religion unelectable (in post-modern lingo: less like Hillary and more like Obama).
This also means, being stupid BUT Maronite Christian outweighs being smart BUT Shiaa when it comes to the presidency, being stupid BUT shiaa outweighs being smart BUT sunni for the speaker of the parliament position, and being stupid BUT sunni outweighs being smart BUT Maronite when talking about the prime minister slot.
Religions and sects in Lebanon can be advantageous privileges or good-for-nothing handicaps.
Today’s young ones were not only born into the same sectarian system we inherited.
They’re now living the sectarian-based hate.
They’re absorbing the accusations of treachery from all sides to all sides.
They are today’s sponges and the liquids they’re absorbing are tenfolds more venomous than the water we drank as kids.
Last era’s sponges are being squeezed today and we’re all witnessing the results.
I’m very reluctant to imagine what’s going to come out when this era’s little ones are squeezed 20 years from today.
My 30LL,
Ali
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