The Lebanese state of being is an odd mixture of denying reality and accepting the absurd. The former often leads to deferring difficult decisions and necessary actions, while the latter creates acceptance for when the consequences of inaction come into bloom.
Take water and electricity. Infrastructure has been collapsing and pushed passed capacity for years — the World Economic Forum has rated Lebanon second last in the Arab World in infrastructure development, behind only Yemen — yet politicians pretended it was beyond their purview and that these utilities could somehow hold out, letting corruption, inaction and ineptitude reign in place of actual policy making. The result now is that Lebanon — a country priding itself on its modernity, culture, education and sophistication — has massive rolling blackouts daily, dry faucets in the summer and yet we simply shrug bitterly and say: “That’s the way it is.”
Much more dangerous has been the Lebanese obliviousness in addressing the seeds of conflict — such as animosities between sects, the massive proliferation of weapons, and the lack of developmental, economic and educational opportunities in many parts of the country that lead to ever more entrenched poverty. These are the fuel for the clashes we saw last month; the Syrian uprising spilling over into Lebanon is simply a spark.
The reality today is that we are a populace ready to spray bullets at the tiniest provocation while our national army and security forces are so riven with sectarian divisions that they cannot intercede. Even if they are overturned, travel warnings by Gulf countries regarding Lebanon will likely scare away hundreds of millions of tourist dollars this summer. The most important pillar of the economy, the banking sector, is watching profits evaporate as the mess all swirls around, and just received another kick last month when Standard & Poor’s global credit rating agency lowered its long-term outlook for Lebanon.
Perhaps most of us are already aware of these factors. Yet, as the summer approaches, we cannot allow ourselves to hit the beach and become complacent while our country is lead into another internal conflict. Unless we recognize the need to deal with our underlying issues, rather than simply treating the symptoms, our problems will be much larger than a little sunburn.
