1000 American Luminaries Support the Arab Spring

[Image from Unknown Archive] [Image from Unknown Archive]

1000 American Luminaries Support the Arab Spring

By : Sinan Antoon سنان انطون

Moved by the immense courage of Arab men and women who have toppled vicious dictators in Tunisia and Egypt, and those who are still at it in Yemen, Syria and Bahrain, some of the brightest stars of American culture and arts have initiated a campaign to show their solidarity with Arabs and to call on the US government to stop supporting dictators.

The campaign began in January at the height of the Egyptian revolt. It initially boasted some major household names. One of the original organizers, who asked to remain anonymous, because he was concerned about his image, and has since handed over responsibilities to an intern at the campaign, told one of our correspondents about the germ of the project:

“My eyes welled up when I saw the footage of peaceful protesters being savagely attacked by the forces of a dictator funded by my tax dollars. I thought to myself “Shit! I have to do something about this. Like make a movie about it or something. I made a few calls to friends, but then I got distracted. I’m still all for it though, in principle. I’m just busy, you know?”

The campaign seems to have lost steam. Some who were initially enthusiastic have been discouraged by “the morning after.” Others cited personal issues. The volunteer intern working on the mailing list of potential signatories was kind enough to share samples of the responses she’s been receiving when trying to enlist names:

“I was really excited about the revolution at first. It was inspiring to see these people wake up and do something good instead of just blowing themselves up all the time, but then the counter-revolution put a damper on things. . . I’m also worried about these Muslim Brooks Brothers taking over. Why don’t they shave? Anyway, Jenny and I had to go to Tibet and we weren’t answering e-mails. Have you been to Tibet?”

“I really want to support this, but don’t have time to read the whole thing you sent and am not going to sign without reading. Sorry, I’m moving and have tons of packing to do.”

“Look, don’t get me wrong. I love Arabic food and I even have some Iranian friends, but I just can’t get over the burqa thing. When they take it off, I’ll put my name down for anything”

“I’m willing to consider adding my name, but I object to the nomenclature. Are they “revolutions” in the genuine sense of the term?

“Although I read that these were peaceful protests, I’m still worried by all the screaming and anger I saw on TV. What is so upsetting? Can`t they be a bit more civil? I’m not sure these people are ready for it yet.”

“Spring or no spring, please remove me from your list. I’m not an environmentalist.”

“We are both moved by this. Tremendously. They share our American values. They use twitter. We are positive and think we will sign, but we need to think about it a bit. We don’t want to rush.”

“Don’t waste my time.”     

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Boutros Harb For President

In my capacity as a founding editor of Jadaliyya, I hereby endorse Boutros Harb, current Lebanese Minister of Labor, for the office of President of the republic. If Lebanon were a country where presidential candidates actually stood for elections and citizens actually voted to choose who would occupy the office of the President[1], I would certainly vote for him. I would even campaign for him.

Throughout a long career of public service to his country, Mr. Harb has demonstrated an uncanny understanding of and dedication to the whole of Lebanon, and not only to the community that his detractors say his only concern is; the Christians of Lebanon. While his detractors see a man whose political positions bend with the changing political winds, I see a man who has perfected the art of Lebanese politics and taken it, along with his once March 14 ally Walid Jumblatt, to a whole new level. Moreover, Harb has been in politics for a long, long time. He first became member of the Lebanese Parliament in 1972 and has been in one way or the other implicated in the numerous achievements of the Lebanese government since then. As Lebanese citizens, we know that our best hopes for reform, security, and prosperity rest with career politicians such as Bourtos Harb.

Most recently, Harb has once again demonstrated the reasons why he is the ideal (Maronite) man to lead Lebanon and to share power with the other two principled, incorruptible, and leading political minds of that country; Saad Harirri and Nabih Berri. A true visionary, Harb has proposed a draft law that would criminalize the sale of real estate between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon. With this law, he has demonstrated his uncanny understanding and dedication to what makes Lebanese so damn special. He alone has had the courage to state that it is not enough that Muslims and Christians cannot marry each other on Lebanese lands, that the political system is divided between the Shiite, Maronite, and Sunnite sects, and that Christians, Muslims, Jews and all the sects within these categories marry, divorce, inherit, adopt, commit adultery, and are buried when they die according to different laws and regulations. No, it is not enough. For Lebanon to truly live up to its promise as the only liberal diverse democracy in the Arab world, Muslims and Christians should not be able to sell land, apartments or houses to each other. For Lebanon to reach the heights envisioned by French imperialists and their local allies, real estate must also be segregated in order to protect the special character of that country. After all, if we are not careful, we are likely to end up like Saudi Arabia, Iran or Syria. As a Lebanese woman who enjoys living in a country that protects my rights and within which I am an equal to my male counterparts, I shudder at the thought.

With Lebanon plagued by political instability, rising unemployment and underemployment, and with the very real threat of another Lebanon-Israel war at hand, it takes great courage to concentrate on the issues that matter. With his draft law that criminalizes the sale of real estate across religious communities, Harb has demonstrated such courage. Instead of needlessly trying to change a practice whereby citizens try to keep “their” areas religiously homogenous, Harb has seen the logic in legislating this practice. With Lebanese citizens worried that they cannot pay their bills, that a new civil war may erupt, or that they and/or their children will be forced to emigrate, we can rest easy knowing that politicians like Boutros Harb know what we should be worried about and are willing to act based on their superior knowledge. I hereby endorse Boutros Harb for President for all of these reasons, and because he, and his policies, truly embody all that is right about Lebanon.

 


[1] In the Lebanese political system, the President is elected by the Lebanese Parliament, members of which must stand for general elections.