No Deal

Are we saved now that the Tehran Madman and the Saudi Baldie struck a deal. or does their hand shake mean that they'll simply split the cake. Puns and name calling end here, I promise. Today we are facing a Catch 22 proposition. The threat of civil war has been weighing heavily on us, whether it's an intentional and calculated weight or not, it is doing the job of weakenig our knees. We could kneel down and beg the lords of war for mercy, but do we really have anything left to lose at this stage? The question becomes the old rhetoric of half full or half empty.

I've written a few months ago that change is imminent, and that change is good in that it sets a precedent of accountability. That would be a dangerous precedent for some who had to raise the cost of change to a knee buckling weight to protect the Zaeemship or the centuries-old dynasty.

But is change worth all this trouble when in the end we are getting more of the same... Establishing a mechanism of change and accountability would only make future changes easier. However, to settle for crumbs after all we've been through would kill any hopes of change until the next Halley appearance.

I am not optimistic about an end to the crisis in the next few hours; but I am about the future of the country. Now is not the time to wane under pressure. It has been painful and it will continue to be, that is just the price of loving life in Lebanon.