The Same Old Lebanese Elections... AGAIN!
June 5, 2009 by RootSpaceOnline
By Maya Terro
In this country, there are those who do and those who say they will do but end up never doing anything. Sadly, the latter group of people is the one that ends up representing us in the parliament.
Ladies and gentlemen allow me to introduce you to the good old Lebanese elections whose everlasting slogan has and (if my instinct is right) always will be the following: “If you’re not with us, then you’re with them; therefore, you can say goodbye to your folks because they are going down.” They’re the “Big Guys” for Pete’s sake and they still talk like they’re in some kindergarten class fighting over who gets to be on the winning list and who doesn’t.
All I know is that all eyes are on the 7th of June, 2009. Why? Well, because on this particular day, it will rain gold coins. OKAY, I’m kidding. It’s actually because voters from all over Lebanon will go to the polls and decide who the next bunch of politicians ruling this ancient piece of land will be. Everyone is bidding on who’s going to win this political war –will it be the 14th or the 8th of March faction? It has to be one of them. Right?
Wrong!
Generally I avoid politics – it goes against my grain. However, sometimes, like every other human, I naturally get caught up in the fray even if I don’t intend to or want to in the very beginning. I don’t know about you, but I can’t sit and stare while everyone else has a good time messing up what’s left of this country! I will go out on a limb and say that, the way I see it is that both parties will win this one and Lebanon will be the only loser in this parody we call ‘elections’. Little do the Lebanese know about how true elections are actually run or at least how they should be run.
It’s funny but, go ahead and ask any person that you meet today for their opinion on what’s going on regarding the elections. The odds are that, depending on this person’s political affiliation, replies will surely vary. It will go something like this: “It’s positive - our party is likely to win and the other party is going to lose for sure.”
They tell you what they think is right. Is it encrypted in stone or is it just that some statements are better uttered and left hanging in the air never to be elaborated upon?
Take a look at the US. True, they might not be as democratic as they claim to be, but at least it’s all out in the open for everyone to see. People there have the right to question everything. And by everything, I mean everything. From Obama and Clinton’s obvious fight over who’s going to represent the democrats to people digging out Obama’s past in hopes of finding something that might make him lose his eligibility to the selection of Palin as McCain’s running mate. The best part of it all was that comedians turned this into a big circus on the Saturday Night Live show and poked fun at the nation’s politics.
This is all exciting but what does it have to do with Lebanon? It has nothing to do with Lebanon which brings me to my argument: why is that so? I mean why don’t we have something similar to what voters in the US were experiencing- right here in Lebanon. This type of circus is exactly what should be taking place in Lebanon and not the circus that we are used to having every year around elections time -the one where the ‘best’ are left out with those that are ‘next’ in line (to their predecessors) left to rule the game. I mean this is all so typical—our so called candidates do not clearly state what they stand for, and certainly don’t give the voters much to think about either. There are no organized debates- cursing each other live on TV doesn’t count- and restricted means by which voters can know more about the history of their candidate.
Allow me to explain. We, the majority of the Lebanese population, have a history of voting blindly (at least those of us who vote and if I’m correct, there ain’t a lot of us out there, at least to my knowledge that is) for the party that our parents have been voting for and supporting for ages, before we were ever born. So if it’s not the grandparent who’s running, it’s his son, and if it’s not his son, then it’s the grandson. I am sickened with the same old surnames. Talk is cheap! Little do actions bespeak words here in this little portion of the world, if they ever.
I still await that day when we will be able to make fun of our political leaders in public and not just be confounded to our little groups.
I still await that day when all the old folks in the parliament will retire and take the rest of what’s left of their so-not-long lives and leave the young generation to experiment for once.
I still await that day when candidates will have realistic down-to-earth platforms.
So to await I shall, and while I’m at it, why not write about it, eh.
