An amazing picture of today’s opposition protests in Lebanon, which easily dwarfed last week’s Hezbullah demonstration:
Check out the symbolism: Harriri off to the side and in the back, behind a sign that says 100% Lebanese: he’s a goad to the demonstration, its origin, but no longer its main purpose. A crane in the background, rising above the city, symbol of progress and reconstruction, but also a sort of a cross beside the minaret of the nearby mosque, two antagonistic faiths finally standing together. Sunshine, sparkling blue ocean, nature’s gifts to Lebanon in full display. And, in the middle of it all, the Lebanese people, gathering together to say that thirty years is long enough, thank you very much, we’d like our fucking country back now.
You can’t discount Hezbullah, or Israel, or Syria, or any of that. Nothing’s over, this has just barely begun. But, all the same: the energy in that crowd must have been electric, captivating, uplifting, all-consuming. It could have powered cities, I’d imagine. Planets. Galaxies. I would have loved to have been there.
Ack. This post suffers from a marked lack of cynicism, and a ridiculous surfeit of wishful thinking. It’s just a picture, after all.
But what a picture. What a beautiful picture.
2 comments ↓
it is, indeed, a beautiful picture!
Makes you think: Maybe, just maybe, moderation and moderate thought have a chance in parts of the screwed up neighborhood called the Middle East. I cannot abide Bush, but I do agree with idea of spreading more free thought (not Bush’s strong suit, I know), and secularism, and liberty in this neck of the woods. If it happens in Lebanon, then perhaps Hariri’s death will not have been for naught… L
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