❊ On Independence Day

Ghassan Karam on Independence day’s “cruel joke”:

Lebanon has failed to grow the idea of citizenship among its residents who are willing and anxious to do the bidding of any state as long as it is not Lebanese under the mistaken and deadly rationale of sectarian balance

Between us, I’m starting to feel that the whole idea of “independence” is becoming passé. In today’s world, there’s no real “independence” to speak of even within great nations. China is dependent on American treasury bonds and America is dependent on Chinese factories (and, soon enough, Chinese consumers). Ireland and Greece are dependent on European bailouts and Germany is dependent on Russian gas.. You get the idea.

By the same token, Lebanon is dependent on Arab liquidity, Iranian missiles and American and French know-how. And to expect “independence” of any nation, let alone Lebanon, is starting to feel like an obsolete and pointless exercise.

So Why do we keep celebrating Independence Day?

I think what Lebanon lacks and what Ghassan was criticizing is “social cohesion”. The truth is, we don’t have any. We have different dreams, different expectations and different values. We all know that, and this is why we celebrate our flag so loudly on independence day.

In Lebanon, independence day is not about independence at all. It’s about keeping the illusion of a nation united under one flag, and keeping a hope alive that maybe one day, perhaps, it can become a reality.

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Note: Posts with titles starting with an ❊ (asterisk) are my articles and opinion posts. I used this system to separate long posts from quick links and comments.