Forgive and Forget?
I am willing to hail Jumblatt as a new man. I am willing to forget his crimes in the 15 years of hell, to glaze over what he had done in the 90's, to ignore all the money he had embezzled, and to put on a smile when I hear about the relatively feudal system some families in the Chouf live under. I am willing to throw that all out of the window, if there is some fundamental sign that he has changed.Is there some sign? His speeches seem to hint that there is. Do we support him because he says what many of us want? Disarm Hezbollah he says. Cool. Maybe he can argue his point more constructively, but who cares about that. And then ... you realize that he only started arguing about this soon after he lost funding from Iran. I'm willing to believe that there is no link between those two incidents, and that he has suddenly just seen the light. He believes that democracy is the only way for the Middle East, and he is right. But wait ... how democratic is the PSP? When was the last time his own party had elections? Hmmm ... let's just put that aside for now shall we. After all, he was one of the architects of the Cedar Revolution, and that I cannot deny. He shouted "Syria out" with the people ... and then some time afterwards, he loudly claims that he missed the good days of Hafez Assad. Oh my.
So ... I would rather wait to see some real change before I hail Jumblatt. Words should not hold more sway than actions. But none of this is new. None of this is new. We keep falling into the same trap of supporting the same people because "today, they are voicing my ideas. We need someone powerful, like Mr. X, to speak for us. How else can we achieve our hopes for this nation." And after thirty years - THIRTY YEARS dammit - with the Beyk, the General, and the Hakim we continue to euphemize their actions. We continue to take illogical risks with people who have not ceased to "disappoint" (a euphemism in its own right) us, under the surreal premise that "they have changed - they really do care for the good of the nation".
But since that isn't going to change anytime soon, all I can say is sit back and enjoy the show. It's going to be quite an "interesting" ride.
posted by Lazarus, 4:20 PM
3 Comments:
You are right Lazarus to distrust a man with such a background. I certainly do. But I can't but agree with what he's preaching lately. It's stuff we bloggers especially were screaming about when he was still defending Hizbullah as a national resistance. Now that he's finally saying it like it is, I can't dismiss him for saying what I have always wanted him to say. We don't have many options right now. The others are too weak and easily intimidated by Hizbullah. Jumblatt understands the balance of power game more than anyone else. He went looking for the force in Washington. I can only hope he finds it and uses it for the benefit of the country.
By
Anonymous, at 6:57 PM
Lazarus,
I am glad you criticize Jumblatt. It is important that we keep things real, and sometimes it takes a number of us articulate opinions that essentially complement each other. Consequently, I do not see that the validity of your argument challenges the validity of mine.
Thanks for the post. Keep it up, buddy!
By
Raja, at 8:00 PM
Laz,
I can understand your sketicism but I am afraid that I do not agree with it.
When I voice my support to the new Jumblatt, I am not giving him a carte blanche to take any position or voice any opinion. I am lending my support to an idea that he has agreed to speak in its favour. As soon as he takes a position that is in contradiction with the concept of a free, democratic and sovereign Lebanon then he would loose my support immediately. It is time that we offer our allegiabce to ideas and concepts instead of individuals. That how a mature democracy is supposed to behave. The politicians will have to vie for our support by adopting our ideas , we reciprocate by offering our support as long as their actions do not violate the agreed upon principles. We have to hold them accountable.
Based on the above I will have no problems supporting anyone who is willing to be committed to the political norms that are in this case exceptionless and nonoverridable.
By
Anonymous, at 9:24 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home