My German compatriot was perplexed by Lebanese culture and so he sat back and asked me: "Back in your country, do you have cars and telephones. Are internet and education available?" In awe, I responded: "my friend, have you not heard of Khalil Gibran? The Phoenicians maybe? My misinformed friend, did you not know that Lebanon is the culminating center of tourism in the Middle East, where East meets West and where the night clubs never rest? Foolish man, have you no culture to not know about Lebanon's astonishing beauty, where diversity reigns, and where replenished by the sun's glare, our beaches resonate with zeal like no other in the world?"

Shocked by my response, he then demanded I explain why the Lebanese people do not see what the rest of the world dreams of. Why do we, as a people, adhere to conniving, sadistic, power hungry leaders?

Unfortunately, my dear friend, I cannot answer that question. This week, we saw a battleship stationed on our shores, and a political party declare victory, as the mighty USS Cole buffed its overwhelming symbolic supremacy and dazzled the opposition. And another political party declared war on the western world and Israel for their reprehensible actions, as ordered by their foreign masters. It seems to be difficult, near impossible, for our people to understand that another war, no matter the outcome, is not favorable for the Lebanese people.

I often answer my rightist and leftist friends by saying that if a war would be the cause of a single casualty, being it from the opposition or the March 14 coalition, it is not worth it. At the very least, a war of such a dimension and ferocity would likely take the lives of a hundreds of thousands of Lebanese citizens.

To Prime Minisder Siniora I ask, why have we allowed the Western world use Lebanon as a battle ground? To Hezbollah chief Nasrallah I ask, why have we allowed Iran and Syria to conduct it's proxy war with Israel at Lebanon's expense? Someone should remind our battle hungry leaders that "dignity consists not in possessing honors, but in the consciousness that we deserve them."

Whether by petition or protest, we have to voice our concerns, we have to stand for our country and united we must declare: "Do not sacrifice the future of our country for the benefit of foreign entities, because we will remember and from the gallows you shall hang."

My fellow Lebanese, read this with a grain of salt my intentions are not to upset but to underline the truth. The broadcasting networks we watch religiously, every evening, relate to us bias facts and bias point of views. It is primordial we open our eyes and realize Lebanon comes first.

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