Today in Lebanon there was a protest by a few thousand people in support of a secular political system. I must say that I 100% agree with this position. Sectarian tensions have virtually destroyed Lebanon. Before the civil war in 1975, Lebanon was the envoy of the Middle East; Beirut was called the "Paris of the Middle East" and only 3 Lebanese Lira made up a US dollar. As for post war, Beirut is a city in ruins with a few nice spots sprinkled in while the dollar is no worth 1500 Lebanese Lira. Downtown Beirut used to be a marvel of Lebanese culture and architecture, now, while still worth visiting, it is full with Duncan Donuts, TGIF, and other conveniently American staples. Anything Lebanese there is full with rich Arabs and has a $50 cover charge per person attached to it just to sit down (ok fine that last one is my own personal grip).
The current system allows this to continue since the people in the government are never qualified for the positions they're given and always vote based on party/sectarian lines. (not to different from the US system actually!) A lack of new ideas, mutual agreement, and care is suffocating the country; not to mention corruption as well is prevalent in our government. All this leads to talking about who killed Hariri 5 years ago rather then how to get electricity to everyone in Lebanon.
If Lebanon is ever to get back what it was back then, sectarian tensions must end and the government and parliament must be fulled with qualified individuals to lead the country out of the depths of debt and debris and into peace and prosperity.
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