Lebanon: Not Blown Away

Mago Bill history: Divided, dominated, and blown up. Is that a way to describe Lebanon?

 

    The people of Lebanon are Lebanese. The Lebanese deserve to be honored for who they have been and who they are. They merit our moral support for the rebuilding the nation they can be on the word stage. They can also be a profitable people with whom to do business.

     This tiny, durable, country has a history of contributions to our world. Its people have been known for their cosmopolitan diversity of culture, including that of religions. They are a modern republic and the smallest sovereign state on the mainland of the Asian continent. And I thought it was in North Africa! I have some learning to do. 

 

   There is strong evidence of a rich, well developed culture there going back to 6,000 BC. More recently Lebanon was a seat of Phoenician culture. That maritime culture was active from about 3,200 BC to 539 BC and shared that culture from Lebanon to around the Mediterranean, and to beyond the Pillars of Hercules to as far as Ireland.  In 64 BC the region of Lebanon came under the rule of the Roman Empire, where it became a leading center of Christianity.

    Mount Lebanon was home to the early Maronite Christian Church and maintained its identity through the Arab conquest. Druze took over the Maronite homeland. The Druze are, to this day, a small, but important presence in Lebanon. Druze are considered to be an Abrahamic religion which is neither Muslim, Jew, nor Christian. Maronite Catholics and the Druze are considered to by many to be the founders of modern Lebanon. Druze are only about 6% of the population of today.Still, they may be more important to their country than there numbers suggest.

    Lebanon was conquered by Ottoman Turks in the 16th century and remained under their dominion for 400 years. At the end of WWI they came under the French Mandates. Under that mandate, Lebanon grew a bit but did not grow more united.

    From 1975 to 1990 there was bloody civil war In Lebanon, which led to the country being led by Syria and Israel. 

    Despite all the divisions and dominations, this 4000 sq mi republic lives. There has never been a republic like it. It has been accepted within international law as a "unitary, parliamentary, multi-confessionalist, republic." It seems that multi-confessionalist" refers to the country's acceptance of many religions. Just below is my attempt to expand on this sentence just above.

    Others have called Lebanon a "parliamentary, democratic republic" but add, "within the overall framework of confessionalism. I learn that "Confessionalism" is a kind of "consociationalism" in which the highest offices are proportionally reserved for representatives of certain religious communities. "Confessionalism" I see, is a mix of politics and religion which usually entails distributing political and institutional powers proportionately among confessional communities. "Confession--" here refers to the profession of a certain religious belief. Goals of consociationalism are: stable government, survival of democracy, and the avoidance of violence. A "tough row to hoe." Lebanese have some work to do. 

    When a people agrees to a certain republic, the great majority of citizens must be taught it and retaught it. That teaching includes how it works and how to work it. I have said "taught," but "taught to one another" could be better.

    Lebanese are Respected in Europe, the Arab world, and where ever they are known. They are respected for their culture and for their continued existence as a nation. Lebanon has also been known for their large and influential diaspora. When it has less need to struggle against foreign intervention, it has promptly become a stable financial power. It has profited from tourism and has busy agricultural production. Its people would appreciate the opportunity to do more. Left to guide itself it cam to rank high on the U.N. Human Development index. It is a founding member of the United Nations.

    Lebanon has been around for a long time. It is mentioned in written history from about 5,600 BP. It is mentioned in Sumerian tablets and in the Epic of Gilgamesh. It was a center of the Canaanite City States. Byblos kept records of dealing with Lebanon. This tiny country can be called a source of early cultural influence on Greek, Jew, and Phoenicians, and to much of western culture as well. And, as I am beginning to understand, a home for Christian, Muslim Druze, and more.

    I have mentioned that the capital cit of Lebanon is Beirut, Haven't I? When France was was a diplomatic center of the world and the people of Paris were called the most cosmopolitan, people of Paris called the citizens of Beirut cosmopolitan.

I know we can let Lebanon be, if we will.

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                                                                            RCS

 

                                              

 

 

Around Boulder Dam

Mago Bill history: USA: Memories of an early visit to Hoover Dam.

            They begin with times during WWII. You may know WWII as The Second World War. I knew it as The War. But this is not exactly about that war.

            My father was driving us around the U.S. Southwest. It was a big deal, with gas, oil, tires, and tubes being rationed as a part of the war effort. That brings back a lot of memories. Many things were rationed and lines to get them were long. We stood in lines for meat butter, and nylons. My father may have been combining touring with looking into new work. However, I will try to stick with the "Boulder Dam" story.

            Soon we were at that new dam and parked right on it. Then we were going down on an elevator to below water level. I was wide eyed, looking, and listening, perhaps with my heart beating faster than usual. On the elevator were some workmen who were still working on the dam. My father was talking with them. I think they were talking more about the war, the depression, and the president, than about the dam. For the times, a great dam.

            We saw some plaques telling about the great Hoover Dam, the great desert lake that it formed and the electricity that it was providing. The workmen on the elevator were telling my my father that they called the dam Boulder Dam, in part because of the great boulders moved while building it. But mostly the did not like to call it Hoover Dam, because Hoover had been such a bad president that he didn't deserve to have the dam named after him. They did not wnat the dam to be named after him.

            President Hoover had been of the Republican party. The President at the time was FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, of the Democratic Party. Most people liked President Roosevelt and so did the workmen. Both parties were different then from now. FDR is the first president of which I have living memories. I am back in memories of more than 70 years ago, damn.

            I have just looked at an old newspaper online. It was dared March 4th 1929 and in it I read "Herbert Clark Hoover is inaugurated as President of the United States." A bit farher along it goes on. "He announces tht the government should assist and encourage these movements of of collective self-help." That announcement makes me think that he may deserve to have the dam named after him. 

            I do not remember those "movements of collective self help." They were before my time. Still, they have a pleasant ring to them.

            But, I acknowledge that I have liked the name Boulder Dam since that family visit there.

            FDR was our president then and he was OK.

            President Hoover may have died in 1964, I think. If so he live long and prospered. The year 1964 felt like a turning point in US history. The country felt different after that, especially the politics. About that time everyone seemed to have begun to use the word "them" when speaking of the government. Before then I remembered everyone using "us" and "we" when speaking of the government. We didn't say "the government" we said "our government."

            Anyway President Hoover was a Progressive Republican and raised a Quaker. All to the good. He was interested in getting rid of inefficiency in business and government. Sounds good to me. He was president  as our country fell into economic depression. Tough on him and nearly everyone else. He lost some points and votes because he supported the unpopular prohibition of the drinking of alcohol.

            Hoover Dam was part of a good public works program designed as a practical method to get wealth flowing and put people to work. The dam is still a useful part of our national infrastructure. Hoover deserves some credit for that program.

            I might find incentive to write about FDR later.

Writing this little piece has brought many memories to me. I remembered much of the dramatic beauty of the American Southwest, our awareness of economics and politics, the World War, the high hopes, the memories of a child

            We have a lot to learn as we continue to interpret the doings and happenings of our not so distant past. We will need all of our experience, good sense, and cooperative skills as we move into our future. 

Thank you to those who use our comment section and to you who reads our posts.

            RCS