Parties, tourism, sports, girls, business! I mean what more do you want?

I am sorry but i could not understand adding the word 'girls' in here. Are they another source of entertainment to you people? When will you get over it?

I have been to Lebanon and i don't think there is anything special there to rate it as # 1 country to visit. It was same as any other tourist place.

This post was written in response to another post I wrote in which Dani was angered by my criticisms of ultra-Lebanese nationalism. Ironically, he proves my point in his piece. Here is what I partly wrote then:

”There may not be a nation with a more delusion and grotesque form of nationalism than Lebanese nationalism. When ever I think of Lebanese flag-waving I am reminded of de Tocqueville’s observation that “all free people appear glorious to themselves but national pride does not manifest itself equally in all.”

Most people are proud of their nation and celebrate it accordingly. But may even make the occasional comparison to another nation and note with satisfaction that their country has excelled where others have failed. But the Lebanese - whom ironically have no cohesive country - not only celebrate but remark that their “achievements” are a reflection of nothing else but Lebanese genetic superiority over their neighbors. Lebanese do not shy away from expressing their innate superiority over their Middle Eastern peers.

The Lebanese have long promoted a belief that Lebanon is some sort of special country - the land of the Phoenicians - that has bequeathed to the world disproportionate betterment. The Lebanese like to tout the success of Lebanese overseas as “proof” of the supposedly great genes in Lebanese. And whenever a Lebanese wins anything, the media does not just express pride in the nation’s son or daughter; but editorializes that the victory is like no other victory beforehand. For instance, if a Lebanese wins a medical award the media will portray his award as being better than all the past winners due to some fabricated rational. That such-and-such Lebanese was granted this award and his award is not only a reflection of Lebanese greatness but that is came with added regard from the award committee. The Maronite Patriarch publicly declared in an interview that Lebanese are superior to all the neighbors. Gen. Michel Aoun also once remarked that the Lebanese are “the most civilized people in the world.”

And I put achievements in quotes because very often the things that Lebanese like to brag about are anything but. When Lebanese do not win real awards, they make them up. A casual reader of the Lebanese press will one day hear about some Lebanese winning an award in Thailand for “Best Custom Design” or some great honor like that. The Lebanese are obsessed with bestowing awards on themselves and any sane person cannot help but ask: do such journalists who write said stories actually believe what they are propagating?

Why do the Lebanese have a perverse nationalism? First, there is the strain of right-wing Christian activism in the country that created in the 1950s and 1960s an ethos of Lebanese nationalism that promoted the belief that Lebanese was a special country and an heir to a great empire. The most famous promoter of such a belief was the Nazi-inspired Phalange party. The party’s ideology trumped an ideology that upheld Lebanon as a superior country - in line with fascist dogma in, say, Italy - with a superior race. It also questioned whether Lebanon was Arab rather than Phoenician. And there was even a failed movement to replace Classical Arabic as the official language with Lebanese Colloquial Arabic, which the Phalange argues was isn’t own separate language (the notion that Lebanese dialect was its own language is a joke beyond sickness). The Phalange’s promote of fascist-style nationalism remains the de fault nationalism in Lebanon.

Second, there is the fact of Lebanese insecurity. It is ironic that a people so prone to flag-waving lack any sense of nationalism among their neighbors. There is no Lebanese country to speak of. Lebanon is a divided country where loyalty to sect is paramount and a large segment of the population identified with Syria (all of Lebanon was once Greater Syria) rather than the central government in Beirut. Thus the Lebanese compensate by fabricating myths and cheering excessively for sport teams...”

I should have added that Lebanese nationalism often leads to racism and violence against their neighbors. Exhibit A: Dani’s comments about ”terrorist” Syria. And the Lebanese abuse the Palestinians second only to Israel.

Looks at the delusion that fills this sad piece. I feel sorry for someone who is so insecure about his identity that he goes around talking about how Lebanon is ”one of the best nations” because it has ”100 world class night clubs, pubs and restaurants.”

These are the ”accomplishments” that insecure people hold up. Some Lebanese seem to think that they are the only ones with a nice city and with sporting teams that attend international competitions (Lebanon almost never wins). Is going to the Asian cup worth bragging about? Lebanon has never gone to the World Cup. I am of Tunisian heritage and Tunisia has gone to the WC four times including each time for the three last Games. Yet, I do not and do not see Tunisians going around informing the world of that fact because he are not delusional. We do not see ourselves as better simply because he go to sporting competitions. Tunisians are not insecure, they have a real country. But those Lebanese whom brag about the dubious honor of losing at the Asian Games feel a need to boost to compensate for not having a real country. It would be laughable were it not so sad. Insecurity and delusion, that is all.

And the Lebanese - did you not here? - have the ”best” food, expect so-called Lebanese food is often Syrian food. All of what is now Lebanon was Greater Syria at the start of the 20th century.

And, finally, there is another grotesque Lebanese cultural feature exhibited in this post: blaming outside nations for Lebanese problems.

Dani writes that Lebanon was been attacked by the world in an effort to bring it down. But the Lebanese brought themselves down with their sectarian fighting. There is no Lebanese nation. Lebanese see themselves as belonging to a sect first and a nation second, if at all. They are divided and constantly at war: either hot or cold. But they console themselves by blaming others. A common theme in retelling the civil war is that all of Lebanon’s problems are due to outside interference: Palestinians, Syria, Israel, Iran, France and the United States. That Lebanon would be a nation at peace were it not for foreign influences. This theory was popularized in a book written by the then-editor of the right-wing, sectarian Christian al-Nahar newspaper titled ”The War of the Others.” But this is false. Lebanese problems are indigenous. The only reason foreigners are so involved in Lebanese politics is because Lebanese sects invite them in order to benefit from a foreign patron in what is perceived as zero-sum politics with rival sects. There once was a time, in the late 1950s and early 1960s under the presidency of Fuad Chehab, when Lebanon was truly a modern country with a government not controlled by tribal, sectarian leaders. But all that fell apart. Under Chehabb, there was no foreign influence because he kept it at bay. But the late 1960s and 1970s saw several nations getting involved in Lebanese politics but only at the behest of Lebanese sects. The Lebanese are looking for a scapegoat to their troubles, instead of facing up to the root causes of their wars. It is Lebanese divisive politics of Christian v. Muslim and Sunni Muslim v. Shiite Muslim and Christian v. Druze and ... this is the cause of wars. Dani blames the world for Lebanon’s troubles, he refuses to recognize facts. He refuses to understand that in a nation where Christians only live with Christians and Muslims also live in their own towns, the division will bequeath civil war. Dani believes the apologetic propaganda. A lot of nations are divided and lack nationalism, i.e. Belgium, but they do not resort to blaming others for their problems (or even wars). Many Lebanese, unfortunately, do.

Did you know that Lebanese school children today are not taught about the 1975-1990 Civil War simply because Lebanese sects cannot agree on a narrative? This is how divided Lebanon is that there is no unity on history and the future leaders of the country are not learning the valuable lessons that led to war so as to prevent future conflict. As the saying goes, ”Those whom fail to learn history are bound to repeat.”

Don’t think I am anti-Lebanese or anti-Lebanon. I wish the best for Lebanon. But the country will never move forward until it embraces unity and healthy nationalism not an extreme form that is uses to compensate for the lack of national unity.

Dani, unfortunately, is a reflection of what is holding the country back. He may resent me, but I feel sorry for him for his views are so destructive to his spirit and his country.

This is the comment he left under my aforementioned post:

”WE ARE THE CEDARS, WE ARE THE PEOPLE, WE ARE THE DESCENT, WE ARE THE PHOENICIANS, WE ARE THE GREAT LEBANON.”

Is this how a secure person sounds? Or is this the insane nationalism of a delusional and insecure zealot?

http://marcovilla.instablogs.com/entry/lebanons-delusion-nationalism/#comment-628128