Gibran who died on April 10, 1931 has become one of the most widely read poets in history. Gibran's genius cannot be measured only by his ability to spin a phrase or paint a picture but ironically his genius is to be found in his prophetic descriptions of what ails the Lebanese soul. Many of his writings, when viewed through the prism of the Lebanese eye take on a special meaning, the ability to look critically into the depth of the Lebanese psyche.
What Gibran did not realize is that his analysis of over three quarters of a century ago is still as relevant, even more so, than anything being written today. Sadly the maladies that he wrote about seventy years ago are still with us today. It is as if we have become a petrified social structure.
Gibran was a man of hope and optimism. I am sure that he would be very much saddened to learn that his beloved Lebanon is still stuck in a world of ignorance, incompetence and hypocrisy. Make no mistake about it, Gibran would not be proud to learn that we have refused to develop, improve and better ourselves. He never meant for his critical description of us to remain true for all time.
I know of no better way to honor Gibran than to be reminded of these excerpts from two of his works that prove his prescience and his extraordinary ability to be just as relevant today as he was seventy five years ago.
Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful,
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins
Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking,
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.
No one can disagree with the fact that all Lebanese, not only the political class stands to learn from the above immortal words of the author of The Prophet. Gibran's disappointment and resentment of what we were and what we still are takes it's most critical shape in the following direct address to us:
Hypocrisy is your religion, and
Falsehood is your life, and
Nothingness is your ending; why,
Then, are you living? Is not
Death the sole comfort of the
Miserables?
***
I have loved you, my countrymen, but
My love for you is painful to me
And useless to you; and today I
Hate you, and hatred is a flood
That sweeps away the dry branches
And quavering houses.
***
I hate you, My Countrymen, because
You hate glory and greatness. I
Despise you because you despise
Yourselves.
I feel certain that Gibran despises us for our inability to grow, to mature and to take advantage of the opportunities that have been offered to us. If Lebanon is to exist, to survive and to prosper then we have to show that we are worthy. If we fail, and so far we have only failed, then the answer to the question of who lost Lebanon is very clear.
We have failed to become Lebanese; we have failed to establish a state and insisted instead to create a divided "pretend" nation. We have caused the death of Lebanon through our disloyalty, irresponsibility and selfishness.
Tags: Culture, Gibran Khalil Gibran, History, Literature, My Countrymen, Pity a Nation, Poem, The Prophet
