Independence And Its Consequences.

True independence only comes when we are able to take responsibility for our own actions.

Next week, president Suleiman will be making his first official trip to Syria. Yesterday, the Israelis told us that the Lebanese government will be held responsible for Hezbollah’s actions. Also, M.P. Michel Aoun declared from parliament that the people of Lebanon, its government and its resistance are all one entity.

Is there anything in common between these events?

At the heart of them are the fundamental notions of independence and responsibility. The stakes in Lebanon have become too high and the Lebanese citizens will have to soon make some choices and accept their consequences.

To illustrate my point, let’s talk about Israeli overflights over Lebanese territories. By all measures, they are internationally illegal, and in a sense we have the “right” to shoot them down as Hezbollah had suggested. Yet for some quirks in history and international norms of fairness, Israel happens to be a military power with the capability of destroying Lebanon and getting away with it.

The choice every single Lebanese faces is this: Do we want to be right and keep our dignity at the expense of our lives and that of our children? Or do we want to stay alive and suck up the occasional air violation as a trade off to our prosperity?

To many, this isn’t an easy choice. But it so happens that we have to make it in the next general election. Do we want to vote for leaders who believe that “the people of Lebanon, its government and its resistance are all one entity,” knowing what the consequence of that vote might be? Or do we want to vote for leaders who want to “stay away from trouble” like Mr. Seniora, even at the expense of our national pride and dignity?

Israel has made it clear that we can no longer blame Syria and get away with it. This time, we have to be careful because we are truly responsible for our choices. We can’t whine, we can’t protest the unfairness of it all, we can’t blame anyone else. It is a difficult choice but we have to make it.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the true meaning of independence.