Why it is No Myth that I Am Lebanese and Always Will Be

Rachael M.’s blog post titled “How ‘Nationalist Myth-Making’ Made Me an Israeli” ended with these inquiries: “If religion was not an important part of this struggle, why would Jews who have never been near Israel care so deeply about holding on to that territory? In fact, why would Jews in other lands come to identify themselves specifically with Israel in the first place?”

If I were to ask a Lebanese patriot these questions, s/he would literally laugh in my face. My family and I are very politically inclined and politically active, both in Lebanon and in the Dominican Republic. When I read those questions I literally saw my Lebanese political life flash before my eyes—I remembered sitting as a little girl in my grandparents’ house and listening to my dad, aunts and uncles, and cousins discussing and arguing about politics; I remembered the night-long talks I had with my friends about our different political party inclinations; I remembered all the rallies we went to and those we condemned; I remembered how angry I was when Michel Aoun was given a king’s welcome as he returned from his supposed “exile” in Paris; I remembered how my heart broke every time a bomb exploded and another compatriot died; I remembered the hatred, anger, and determination that filled my heart when I was caught in Lebanon in the middle of a war that should have never lasted as long as it did. I am Lebanese and I love my country, but sadly, my country’s people are sometimes blinded by their bias and trauma.

So how would one of my friends from Lebanon answer those questions? In their ever-paranoid and ever-traumatized minds, they would answer that Jews want to identify themselves specifically with Israel because Israel is the United States’ baby, and they want to reap the benefits of being allied to the United States. They would also answer that Jews and Israelis hold on to the territory so dearly because of its [geostrategic] location, because of the benefits of resources to come, and to ultimately steal Lebanon away. The last statement may sound funny to most people, but not to the Lebanese; most believe this.

So how can you try and bring democratic order and neighborly friendliness in an area where such ideas and animosity have been inculcated in people’s minds since birth? This is one reason why I believe that democracy in the Middle East as the West sees it may not be possible. Sure, democracy is not impossible, but it may not be the same as that in the US. Trying to impose your ideology on someone who has always believed something completely foreign is not easy and is not always useful. The US has an idea of which nations like it and which do not in the Middle East, but what it is not aware of is what every-day people on the streets think about it and its ideologies. Huntington is correct in believing that the world’s future conflicts will be based on a “clash of civilizations”—they will be based on cultural and ideological disparity instead of being based on fighting over location and colonial territories. In trying to make its wars about democracy and freedom, the US has made the Middle East perceive them as wars of Islam versus the West (and with good reason). After all, an Islamic caliphate would definitely disturb the precious power balance in place now and the US would no longer be sole hegemon.

So how does all this have to do with the quotes and how my Lebanese friends might perceive them? It is exactly that… Certain people with certain cultures and certain histories will always hold on to their beliefs and ideologies and no matter what anyone does, nothing will change them (regardless of whether the beliefs are right or wrong). Perhaps that is why so many people hold such a pessimistic view of the future of world order. It is one thing to try and get along and another thing to force people to get along—obviously the first one, which is much harder and which does not always work, is the best. Yes, there are powers in the Middle East that if left unchecked are likely to wreak havoc, but these powers will also be most likely to wreak even more havoc if they feel threatened. The best thing to do? I am not in the position to really answer that correctly and without bias. I can however say this—you cannot expect to treat a different nation as you would your own and get the same outcomes and cooperation. Sometimes the best intention can yield the worst results.