❊ This Is What an Intimidated Man Sounds Like

I watched the TV interview with Mr. Walid Jumblat yesterday.

He strived to take the posture of a responsible man who is standing in the middle between two raging behemoths (the Sunnis and the Shiaas), and throughout he made contorted, acrobatic arguments about why everyone should calm down.

But there was a distinguished smell in the air. That was the smell of fear, the smell of a man who was scared for his life and for the safety of his community.

Every man is free to take whatever position he wishes, but trying to disguise his stance as that of a wise statesman concerned for his country won’t fool anyone. Especially if that man is enjoying the role of political kingmaker and reaping the spoils of power.

A wise man once warned us not to give in to fear. This is what he told us:

The moment where we are struck by hesitation, fear or hopelessness is the moment we will lose the war and be damned by history. Let’s gather strength from the memory of those who died before us. Let’s finish this journey and cross the bridge to a new Lebanon

That wise man was Walid Jumblat himself, back in August 2007.