عندما يتم تمويل أي تلفزيون كي يبقي هواؤه مفتوحاً بهدف النقل المباشر للمظاهرات الأخيرة، يكون قد ساهم بشكلٍ غير مقصود بالتقليل من شأن الثورة بوضعها في خانة تليفزيون الواقع. فقد أدى هذا الهواء المفتوح والمتواصل عبر وسائل الإعلام إلى خلق منبر حيث بات بإستطاعة أي كان من نيل بضع ثوانٍ من الشهرة مقدماً كلمة مرتجلة كمتنفس لغضبه الصادق والمحق. لكن ما من شيء دون مقابل؛ فقد كان لكل هذا أثرٌ سلبي فتحولت الثورة الموعودة إلى نشاز وأهداف متعارضة. 
 
كان هذا وصفٌ لما حدث خلال الشهر الفائت. فبدل من ثورة بشعاع الليزر، رأينا مصابيح صغيرة مضاءة هنا وهناك. 
 
على الرغم من كل ذلك، كم من مرةٍ يجب رفع مواضيع القرف والإستياء تلك في وجه آذان صماء؟! الفساد، سوء الإدارة، سوء إستعمال السلطة، سرقة المال العام، إنعدام الشفافية، التمييز، المحسوبيات والزبائنية، كلها شكاوى تتساقط كالشتاء على أرضٍ جافة. في أي وقتٍ من الأوقات، يتم إبتلاع تلك الأصوات ضمن عملية الهضم في النظام اللبناني كما يتم وضعها على الحياد وإستيعابها في عملية التمثيل الغذائي. 
 
في البداية، بدا واضحاً إنزعاج بعض المسؤولين من تلك الأصوات. لكن مع مرور الأيام وتبدل التسونامي الثوري الشعبي ليصبح فقط منبراً للإعتراض المرتجل، إرتاحوا إلى ذلك المنظر وتنفسوا الصعداء وعادوا إلى أماكن راحتهم - قلاعهم المحصنة.
 
تطورت تلك القلاع على مدى العشرين عاماً المنصرمة متلاعبةً بأجهزة الدولة. لذا، لا يمكن كسر هذا الجدار المحصن من خلال تظاهرات سلمية. وإذا كان العنف غير مطروحاً (علماً بأنه لا يمكن صنع عجة البيض دون كسر البيض)، فما هي خياراتنا من أجل مواصلة الضغط على كارتيلات السلطة لإجبارهم على التغيير؟ 
 
الحل الأبسط والأسهل حالياً في لبنان هو إنتخاب رئيس للجمهورية موثوق وذات مصداقية، الشيء الذي من شأنه أن يطلق سلسلة أحداث منها حكومة جديدة، قانون إنتخابي جديد ينتج برلماناً جديداً! 
رغم أن موقع رئاسة الجمهورية في الواقع خسر الكثير من صلاحياته التي تشكل ضمانةً وليس إمتيازاً، لكنه برهن عن أهميته وقوته في فراغه. انها الآلية الوحيدة التي ما زالت لها نقاط تأثير ويجب الإستفادة منها محلياً ودولياً من أجل كسر الجمود؛ وإلا سنشهد استدامة المنظومة الحالية المغلقة والممددة لنفسها وغير المتأثرة بالظروف الداخلية والخارجية والمغلفة بإستبداد السلطة الحاكمة.
 
 * رئيسة حزب "الديمقراطيون الأحرار"
* ترايسي داني شمعون

 
When a certain TV network was funded to keep their airwaves open and broadcast the demonstrations live, they inadvertently contributed to trivialize the revolution into an ongoing reality TV show. This constant media access gave birth to the Lebanese soapbox where everyone and anyone had their 15 seconds of fame delivering impromptu speeches to vent their honest and valid discontent. This had the adverse effect of turning the promise of a revolution into a cacophony of conflicting objectives instead.
 
It unfortunately showed that democracy at its best in the form of the airing of free speech is like a sieve, which allows for pressure to be released through unrestrained expression. But in this way it also diffuses the intensity of the message by giving it many voices. This is what happened over the last month. Instead of a laser like revolution we experienced small bulbs lighting here and there.
 
Nevertheless, how many times can the same serious subjects of discontent be raised on deaf ears? Corruption – mismanagement – abuse of power – stealing public funds – lack of transparency – discrimination – nepotism – clientelism - all these complaints fall like rain on dry land. In no time at all, these sound bites are swallowed in the Lebanese process of digestion and its metabolism of absorption.
 
Initially, the oligarchs were visibly ruffled by the accusations and huddled together to entrench in their seats of power, but as the days progressed and the soapbox replaced the popular tsunami of revolt, all the Zaims settled back into the comfort zone of their fortresses.
 
These fortresses have been erected over 20 years of manipulating the state apparatuses to ensure their institutionalized feudal hold on power through the cultivation of serfs instead of citizens protected equally under the law.
 
Therefore peaceful demonstrations cannot breakdown their walls of smugness. If violence is not an option  ( and yet even the simplest omelet is not made without breaking eggs ) then what are our choices to maintain the pressure on the establishment cartels to force them to change?
 
The only option we have is to return to basics. Ockham's razor (a principle attributed to the 14th century logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham) states that "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily." Basically it means that if you have two equally likely solutions to a problem, choose the simplest."
 
The simplest solution now in Lebanon, is to elect a new president, which will in itself launch a chain of predictive events including a new government, a new electoral law, and a new parliament obligatorily.
 
Though the Presidency in point of fact, is not strong in and of itself, it has proved to be strong in its vacuum. It is the only mechanism, which still has points of leverage. These must be applied domestically and internationally to break the stalemate. Otherwise the presently closed system of self-prorogated governing will perpetuate itself hermetically sealed by the tyranny of the institutionalized oligarchs.
 

​The politics of obstructionism – Lebanon forgotten

The dissension among the ruling blocs in Lebanese politics has become personal to such a degree that they automatically veto each other’s proposals just as a matter of principle. The confrontations are no longer even expressed on sectarian or political lines but seem to be completely personality related with one leader hating another and obstructing him out of spite or spreading malicious rumors just to score points over each other.

On the other hand, there are extremely urgent matters at hand, which need consensus urgently, including most importantly the matter of the solution to the crisis of garbage collection, but also, the health dangers which this situation poses, the safety of the water, the lack of electricity, the lack of jobs, the collapse of the economy, the Syrian displaced, the matter of wages and salaries increases, the cost of living. These are some of the few essential survival issues confronting Lebanon and the population today.

And yet the bipartisanship is centering around the issue of giving Lebanese immigrants the Lebanese nationality, which by the way fails to address the major women's issue of Lebanese women giving their nationality to their children if married to a foreigner, and the elaboration of an electoral law which though important will not stop people from dying on the streets of the plague due to the rats and rotting waste everywhere.

You have to ask today: Why would the Lebanese abroad even want a Lebanese nationality? When the country is in such a shameful and disgusting mess.

As for a new electoral law? It is very important certainly, but the Zaims won’t even agree on the geography of landfills, how are they going to agree to a law that promises to weaken their hold on their regions.

These polemics are preventing the Parliament, as illegal as it is, as well as the Cabinet of Ministers from coalescing and taking any practical decisions. These deputies who had the audacity to extend their own mandates continue to add offense to injury by getting paid to do nothing. As for their salaries unlike the rest of the poor deprived population, it seems that the matter was solved with one wave of their magic self-serving wand - Yet again!

This is an untenable situation and the constant bickering and petty obstructionism is costing us our nation. The deputies have one essential job to do today: Elect a President! But there are no deadlines, no attendance requirements, no penalties for absenteeism, no consequences for ineptitude! The bottom line is that there is no leverage mechanism to force them to comply! So they continue to do what they do best: Nothing.

This politics of obstructionism is shameful and betrays the concept of statesmanship, which is so lacking today: The idea that there is a moral obligation to overcome one’s ego for the greater good. As we are carried along on this fateful period of continuing and unabated internal discord and brinkmanship, we may as well dig two graves one for us and one for Lebanon...