The tourists have left and the gangs of kidnapping, the mafias of thieves and absolute mayhem have come to prevail from the North to the South. The jungle of weapons is expanding, amid questions about who is blocking the political cover that should be provided to the legitimate authority, to prevent the detonation of the gunpowder barrel. This is Lebanon: entering a dark tunnel after exiting a destructive crisis. The Syrian crisis has sparked divisions and tensions amongst the Lebanese. Hence, the political denominational and sectarian discourse has flourished, in parallel to a faltering economy which can no longer be revived while awaiting the promised oil revenues. But before that, many people are telling a dark joke about the dire need for countless conferences to ensure agreement, in order to prevent the wars waged by political lords for dividing the oil shares. And before that, let us wait for “consensus" over the burial of the “fetus" of the Orthodox Gathering electoral law, on which a lot was said and many insults were made either to defend or to kill it. At this level, it is enough for the aficionados of innovations in the Lebanese political dictionary to listen to the novelty related to the “consensus over the good Orthodox law... which carries bad repercussions" on the country's unity and fate (!), while the storms of the Arab spring blow around it and infiltrate its streets. The mere “fetus" of a law led Lebanon and the political lords back to the climate of sectarian and denominational alignment, the talk about federalism, parity and the one-third quota for each sect and the provocation of sensitivities in defense of the wasted rights. The dark joke thus returned to the pre-Resolution 1559 stage, i.e. back to when the Lebanese leaders – or rather the majority of the political parties' leaders – needed nothing more than a visit to Damascus to learn about the direction of the decision. But everyone lost the compass [to Damascus] despite their will, based on a purely Syrian action. Consequently, the Lebanese became lost in the meanders of their politicians' labyrinths, while the tweets of many of them were perceived as being a desperate attempt to instigate sectarianism, which exposes once again the fakeness of the democracy claims in the presence of sects. Among the latter, there are those who instigate against a political opponent then complain about the instigation and slander. Some are in power, yet ask about the side blocking the political cover that should be enjoyed by the army and the security forces, which ought to be capable of striking the gangs of kidnapping and the mafias of thieves spread throughout Beirut and most of the regions. As for the victim, it never asks the state about its “standing", as it probably hopes to distance itself from the street, the livelihood crises, and the controlling of the border. The Orthodox law is a single “fetus" that provoked a race over mad concerns. And when each sect has its own deputies, this should be followed by questions on the president and the side that should act as the legitimate reference, i.e. the sect or the constitution of the republic, and who will elect the parliament speaker and who will round the corners after him, despite the hasty voting within the joint committees which did not help the fetus maintain its “good health". They are telling us – out of compassion for Lebanon – that the burial of the fetus that is provoking the winds of the spring has become imminent... as long as its birth has become quasi-impossible. But who is handling the fears of the minorities? What is interesting at this level is that the ones who innocently asked this question forgot that they had personally disregarded or sympathized - through their silence - with the campaigns of condescension towards the other, both domestically and abroad, and disregarded the fact that the simplest principles of democracy and its political systems is the respect of equality between the citizens. Those who caused the loss of the compass will always claim that they do not need lessons from the Arab spring and that Lebanon is different. And it is indeed different, considering that the megalomania of some of its politicians is preventing them from seeing the frightening collapse affecting the performance of the state, the paralysis affecting the economy, the bankruptcy of the country's institutions, the shifting away from the principles of the constitution and the existence of a country hated by the majority of its politicians. Was Syria not also different? Let us restore the compass, but from Tehran this time around. Why not, as long as it is a nuclear state and as long as everyone fears the “alliance of the powerful"? Let us close our eyes a little and hope that a deal - which might result from the upcoming political meeting in the spring between Iran and the superpowers - will immunize us against the earthquake sweeping the region, if Lebanon is granted as part of Iran's share. Do we wish anything better than the situation in Iraq under Al-Maliki for the paradise of federal sects in Lebanon?! Are we not provoking the jealousy of old democracies in the West, which have not yet learned how to modernize their systems through the creation of an electoral law for each poll, or with the tweets of our leaders who are flying on the wings of the sects and searching for the state during the day, then undermining its authority day and night?
