Hail the cultural revolution!

“Never again will you be capable of ordinary human feeling. Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty and then we shall fill you with ourselves.” (George Orwell).

In a brightly lit room, men in dark clothing and even dimmer consciences are discussing the censorship of an outrageous word in page 377 of the latest book by a renowned author. They deem it inappropriate for the Lebanese population. They are the ever-reigning lords of our breathing. They filter information and asphyxiate art but proliferate propaganda. For them, it is unsuitable for a Lebanese citizen to witness human genitalia on the big screen, but bloodshed and war atrocities invigorate the spirit. Nowadays, it only takes a certain name or a certain country’s stain, a trivial reference to a political entity or an outspoken comment on a certain religion, to ban a work of art. Thank God (or whatever force you believe or don’t believe in) for Disney movies and children books.

For many years now, media has been the world’s most powerful tool. It has been in Lebanon too, but for all the wrong causes. Political support for bloodthirsty partisans and money-grubbing leaders, ranting on trivial issues, denouncing foreign enemies, pointless talk shows with Lebanese personalities with no other interest than themselves, and popularity contests between politicians. Amidst all this blabber, I ask you: Where are we? How come I, Lebanese citizen, am not the talk of my country? Where are the hungry, the crying, the dying, the living, the celebrations? Where are the social issues that are waiting to be addressed? Where are the campaigners? And most importantly, where is our culture?

These heroes of repression control every aspect of our life. But what’s more frightening is that they are taking culture away from a populace that doesn’t seek it.
Culture. The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively [1]. A manifestation, a demonstration, of man’s capacities in perceiving beauty. And Lebanon is in great need of such beauty, to be created, asked for, witnessed and lived. “A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul” (Goethe).

What Lebanon needs the most right now is a revolution. And not a military revolution, nor a political one, but one of ideas and principles. A cultural revolution. A revolution that doesn’t stop at anything. A revolution that goes knowingly and willingly against the stream of current political parties. 
Once we incorporate culture into our lifestyle, no army in the world can stop us. Once we recognize the importance of culture, no leader can manipulate us. Once we realize how rich our cultural heritage is and how immense and resourceful culture is, our country can never die. A cultural revolution is a revolution of ideas, and ideas are immortal. A cultural revolution is a celebration of life and love, and life and love are eternal. Men live and men perish, but a song, a poem, a book, a film, a picture or a play, transcends time and obliterates oppression. Our culture is our most powerful weapon. Let us seek it, embrace it, and put it to good use.

That is why this is addressed to you, Lebanese citizen. We can’t start a fire without a spark. So singers, let your voices sing our deepest thoughts; musicians, play the chords of our worn out souls; writers, let your feathers dance on words our hearts dare not speak; dancers, grace our eyes with your cadenced beauty; painters, paint our dreams in light and rainbows; citizens, dream and live and give for a better country.


Karl Mattar, March the 5th 2010



[1] Mac dictionnary