The first takeaway from the reading is the utter chaos and suffering the Lebanese state has endured time and time again. From the PLO, to Hezbollah and Syrian occupation not to mention the governmental cronyism it is hard to suggest a strong pluralistic and federalized state. It is yet, through that statement, that I see a people of grit, hope, and perseverance who are still surviving, who are still there. The second takeaway is the outright and in your face improvement of life the state of Lebanon experienced during the Christian/Maronite “Golden Age of Lebanon”. It is striking to me that, out of the majority of the second half of the twentieth century the state of Lebanon improved and prospered, simply because groups worked together and implemented governing that though western, worked, and worked in a way that improved the state more than any other form of sectarian governance. Lastly, I think if those in power will use that power for the good of the state, and allow more forms of federalism and pluralism in governance, Lebanon will survive. I pray they will. Maranatha.
