Elie has written a passionate post in which he essentially says that the Lebanese nag too much and that we have to appreciate the many good things we have going for us. This sounds like a good critique of our society and we’ve seen this type of posts before. They are popular and make very good points, but in this post I will disagree and I will go all in to defend the naggers:
- First, there is absolutely no question that the people who keep nagging love their country. The same people who complain about the food/traffic/internet/politicians, usually jump at the first occasion to tell foreigners how beautiful Lebanon is and how good the food/nightlife/scenery/girls/etc.. are.
I like to think of Lebanese naggers as mothers who want their children to be perfect. They nag not because they hate Lebanon, but because they really see the potential this country has and they’re really disappointed when things that are clearly fixable are neglected
- Second, you know who else nags a lot? The Swedes, Danes, British, Americans and other people who live in democracies. Nagging is an essential part of democracy because it pushes politicians to take action: Demonstrations are essentially collective acts of nagging. Talk shows are displays of public figures nagging and phone-in shows in which people nag are very popular. If you want to vote for politicians, student representatives or group leader, you try to pick the ones who nag the most because they’re the ones who are likeliest to get things done. Do you know why Zeid Hamdan was released yesterday? It’s probably because there was an outcry of naggers on Facebook, twitter, blogs and on TV.
People who don’t nag are people who are content with their lot. They are depressed and they don’t have any hope that things can get better so they don’t bother (people who live in dictatorships don’t nag at all).
As for me, well, I will cherish my right to be grumpy. I will nag, criticize, fault-find and nitpick all I want and don’t you dare take that away from me
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I think both this post and Elie’s compliment each other, as both are very true. Yes, at least we can nag in freedom! So yes, let’s “nag, criticize, fault-find and nitpick” and try and make things better. It’s totally worth it
I agree with your post completely. Nagging brings attention to a situation and self awareness to our actions and the actions of others regarding that situation.
A small and recent example, Marcel Ghanem’s show ‘nagged’ about food safety in Lebanon and all of a sudden the head of the restaurant owner’s association and others are calling for action against violaters which is necessary and long overdue.
I love Lebanon and I also hate it;)
Nagging and whining about issues and short comings of any system is only a problem if nothing is done about it. In general, in Lebanon, people will nag , complain and point out the inefficiencies, which is usually a good starting point. Unfortunately most issues are left at that so nothing changes.
You mention in the US people “Nag”, I say that is not the full picture. Yes, in the US we do point out problems, and we complain about them, but we also have the opportunity to organize and attempt to force change through active organizations. For example if there is something we don’t like at my Kids’ school, we try to force change through our PTA. You can scale that example up to the City, county, state and national level. Do we always succeed in forcing change? Of course not, but we won’t know till we try.
I think you missed the point of what Elie was trying to say. He was trying to convey the message that Lebanese nagging has gotten to the point of torpedoing anything Lebanese such as being duped by the people of AL Jadeed into thinking the Lebanese national anthem is stolen when in reality it was false. Nagging and self criticism should push people forward. But in Lebanon people are practically shooting the nation in the foot by saying its a complete and utter failure and tearing apart any sense of national pride. There are things to be proud of and Lebanon is not Sudan, Somalia or Afghanistan. It has achieved a lot and I think he wants people to stand back and appreciate what they have (have some sort of national pride) instead of nagging all the time.
I discussed this with Elie. I told him that my post was not meant to be a response to his post and that I agree with many of his points..
I think some nagging is good; but nagging with the term “this country sucks” is the real problem. I remeber ten years ago when I would meet Lebanese, they would tell me how cool Lebanon is in the age of Fairouz. Its no longer like that and the pride that Lebanese had for their nation is slowly but surely dissapting. This is a real and potentially harmful phenomenon.
Heh! You mean all those times my psychiatrist has told me I focus on the faults in everything, he is really telling me I’m too Lebanese?
Nahh, it just shows that you’re a democrat (small d)