In the comment thread of a recent Belmont post about the state of war between Israel and Lebanon and Hezbollah, "Aristides" left this cryptic comment: "If you want to read a hell of a (comment) thread, go here."

"Here", as it turns out, is a post entitled "Becoming a Refugee" on a Lebanese blog entitled "Lebanese Political Journal". The blog's mission is "to provide in-depth analysis in English on the political situation in Lebanon." And so it does. And quite admirably I might add.

As it's title suggests, in the post in question, a blogger by the name of "Lebanon.Profile" explains that the current spate of hostilities has made imperative his departure from Lebanon. His destination, interestingly, is Syria. While it's is outside the scope of one post or this blog to cover the political discussions on the thread, there was one aspect of LP's lament that caught my attention:

All my Hezbollah supporting friends are sticking around. They call the rest of us cowards. I guess we are. We want to do scientific research. We want our children to learn how to play the piano. We want to watch our stock porfolios burgeon. We can't do that here any more.

My thoughts about those remarks are these. Well of course he wants those things. He gives every appearance of being a thoughtful and decent soul. That said, does LP really think, I asked as I read, that these things can happen in Lebanon, in a country that

(1) won't fight for its independence, to be free of foreign influence

(2) is not exhibiting, at this crucial time, the propensity for or appreciation of critical thinking skills by its leaders who choose, instead, to point the finger outward rather than look inward

(3) has ceded, apparently out of fear and fecklessness, large swathes of it's territory to terrorists who take directions from a messianic, fascist theocrats hell-bent on genocide and support from a marginalized second-generation dictatorship

Scientific research, properly-functioning capital markets, and the ability to raise your children in freedom and without the ever-present prospect of war - all these good things come at a cost. The citizens in societies where these things happen are, by and large, characterized by institutions like self-sufficiency, a belief that hard work eventually pays off and is a reward in and of itself, personal and collective responsibility, respect for the rule of the laws of men, as well as a good measure of the live-and-let-live philosophy regarding non-injurious personal behavior.

Apparently LP and millions of others in the region remain blissfully- and perhaps willfully- ignorant of how such institutions, along with tremendous sacrifice, have allowed the world's prosperous democracies to achieve what they have and what they mean to keep...at all costs.

File Under: Belmont Club