Overview: Green Light

Green Light

I have at an earlier time this year heard that we – the Lebanese people – are very civilized, although the person who said that comment was very certain, I just wasn’t convinced.

I mean, how could we talk about civilized people when, every day, driving on the road home, we curse almost a few dozen times, because some people don’t deserve to be driving (I wonder from where or how they got their license anyway?). But still, we thank god we came home safe, in one piece, and life goes on.

I still wonder how we could say that there are civilized people when we do not abide by the basic communications ethics, which are to actually listen to what the person is saying until he/she finishes and not intervening before the idea has been said (the concept of raising the hand has not yet been clearly implemented in our lives)

It is very odd that everytime I try to wait for my turn, others just keep pushing their way in, completely disregarding waiting lines, which could turn dangerous when also applied to the traffic lights.
Sometimes I wonder why politicians curse at each other, and fire off highly destructive comments, wasting their own time instead of actually talking about their own programs and actions. What is more amazing however are the people cheering for them, using the leaders allegations against other people and not giving them responsibility for not abiding by their own program (the non-existent program that voters elected them for, yes a systematic one with points and not a vague idea). And suddenly people start hating each other, justifying attacks on civilians and institutions, and protesting in a very civilized way where the aftermath is just a few hundred trashed cars, shops, and a few vital roads blocked, denying others from their very basic right, was that democracy? Civilization? Basic human rights?

You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don’t blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no-one kills the children anymore.
And no one kills the children anymore.

(Gunner’s Dream – Pink Floyd)

Yet I still wonder how civil we are when we leave behind our trash when we go somewhere, when we throw out stuff from cars, windows, as if they would just disappear, while all we do is pollute our very own mean of life, our very own treasure (yes water?! forests? animals? plants? well it is, surprisingly!).

Violate the law of the wild, see her lose her temper
Drink the wine from her stream
Have a time, she’s there for thee

Build the campfire in a place you know safe
And then see that you put it out right
Can you see trail of garbage in there
Maybe not, and that is a sign to follow

Violate the law of the wild, see her lose her temper
Drink the wine from her stream
Have a time, she’s there for thee

(Respect the Wilderness – Sonata Arctica)

Yes, even if we take pride in showing off, how classy we are, having luxurious cars, suits and grand smiles, lies behind the façade, debt, loans, and criminals. But all that matters is the image anyway.

And after a while, you can work on points for style.
Like the club tie, and the firm handshake,
A certain look in the eye and an easy smile.
You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to,
So that when they turn their backs on you,
You’ll get the chance to put the knife in.

(Dogs – Pink Floyd)

Yes people here are very “civilized”, or was it just uncivilized civilization? A civilization that is far beyond repair and reforms. I guess there are no third-world countries, but a rather third-world mentality that pins us to where we are. The mentality of a weeping child, who forces everybody to hear his screams, thinks only about himself, knows well how to point fingers, can’t handle the consequences of his own actions and cannot see beyond the tip of his nose.
And boy do we hold dearly to that mentality.

Filed under Lebanon, Society | Tags: Ethics, Lebanon, Nature, Rights, Society | Comment (1)