Vicious Circle

"The first signs of trouble are perceived, it is easy to find a solution; but if one lets trouble develop, the medicine will be too late, because the malady will have become incurable. And what physicians say about consumpive diseases is also true of this matter, namely, that at the beginnning of the illness, it is easy to treat but difficult to diagnose but, if it has not been diagnosed and treated at an early stage, as time passes it becomes easy to diagnose but difficult to treat... if one recognises political problems early ... they may be resolved quickly, but if they are not recognised, and left to develop so that everyone recognises them, there is no longer any remedy."

Skinner, Q., and Price, R, (1988:11), Macchiavelli: The Prince, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

After almost 10 days of such a massacre and we are still in a position where nobody knows who to blame and for what reason exactly... So many different powerfull or less powerfull national and international actors but not a brave decision to be taken.

It is not only sad. It becomes really outrageous when you realize that the books of history and their lessons exist only for an academic/intellectual consumption without any real interest f0r the discovery and identification of solutions. Ideologies, religions, economic interests (probably above all) dominate the agenda leaving behind death, pain and a ring of hate that will spiral again and again till the end.

The are some things we can n0t ignore. A whole country has been destroyed. And the problems is that the conflicting sides in this case contemplate Lebanon as a quasi neutral area where they can exercice their weapons and settle their differences. Inevitably, one part of the population has decided to support the "resistance" but the great majority has learnt from the past and does not want to jack around when the reconstruction of Lebanon had been started since the last year.

Unoftunately, the national community does not care... Or to be more explicit, it cares only when the stakes are so high for their geopolitical or economic interests that any hesitation can raise the c0sts. As a matter of fact, this is the case 0f contemporary history both before and after the end 0f the C0ld War. Of course, with different arguments and practices every time but the point is the same. In the meantime, the role of UN is always an all time classic joke. They speak loudly when they seek to manoeuvre certain plans but when public opinion really needs to hear a humanitarian and substantial message they remain absolutely indifferent.

I mentioned public opinion and i suddenly remembered our own burdens. I realize very well that nowadays people do not have the time or the patience to concentrate and examine what is going on around them. But for how l0ng people mainly in the western countries will watch people dying in TV and continuing their lives afterwards caring only f0r the interests of their micro-environment.

What nobody understands today is that bad moments exist for all of us. And if we want some0ne to take care of us when we feel weak and helpless then it is at least our duty to think more seriously when other people suffer, and the so close case of Lebanon (and Middle East generally) is such an illustrative example.

However, my personal experience tells me that only when the pain knocks our own door we become sensitive. And as Machiavelli would mention... Then it is too late