Where Should Our Hearts Be?

Today more than ever, young Arabs are asking questions about the meaning of 'Arab Unity'.

We, the Lebanese, like the Iraqis and Kuweities before us, are increasingly disillusioned with 'Arabic' solutions to our 'problems'. What have Arab Regimes done to endless Iraqis who have suffered under Saddam? Why have they ignored the Kuweity people's plight under Iraqi occupation?

It made my heart sink when I saw Amr moosa, the secretary General of the Arab league, scrambling from Beirut to Damascus to Riad, appearing to be mostly concerned with 'saving face' for Syria... is that what it's all about? Saving the dignity of a regime that lacks the slightest bit of people legitimacy? The honorable exceptions here are Saudi Arabia and Qatar who took the side of the Lebanese people, but still, they did it in their individual capacity as states and not under some meaningless umbrella called the Arab League, which is basically a congress of officials appointed by unelected, illegitimate rulers with the sole purpose of scratching each other's backs...

We wear French perfumes, we drive German cars and we use American technology, but somehow when it comes to political solutions, we are made to think that our products should be Made-in-Arabia. The perverted Idea in a lot of Arab intellectual minds seems to be: it's better to be trampled on by rulers who are Arab than being 'occupied' by foreigners. Tell that to an Iraqi Shii, or to a Kuweity, or maybe they are not Arabs? Would I be a traitor if I am secretly happy that George Bush is giving Syria some hard words?

The reason I'm mentioning this is because I'm sick and tired of loyalist Lebanese politicians, always accusing the nationalists of being Un-Arab traitors who are seeking 'outside' solutions; meanwhile, they don't forget to wear their Armani suits, drive their Mercedes cars, sport their Cartier watches and take orders from Syria (who, incidentally, is secretly trying to cut deals with the Americans)... I'm also sick of Aljazeera's coverage that seems to insinuate that the Lebanese demonstrators are puppets, or that somehow they don't know what they're doing...

Call me a Neocon if you want, but Let's for once admit it, Arabism is just a means for prosperity and people empowerment, not an end in itself! And as far as I'm concerned, I think Jacques Chirac speaks much more for me and for my values than Bashar al Assad ever will...