SILENT, BUT DEADLY SERIOUS:

The roaring sound of silence in Lebanon (Wissam S. Yafi, March 17, 2005, Lebanon Daily Star)

Unlike Hizbullah's organized demonstration, the opposition rally on Monday was a grassroots effort, national, and not party based. It mobilized that segment of the Lebanese population that had hitherto rarely been driven into the streets - the silent majority.

The Lebanese silent majority is not sectarian in nature. It represents Lebanon's entire social and regional spectrum. Demographically, it includes people of both sexes and of all ages. Lebanon's young make up a large proportion of this majority, which also embraces all economic classes. It is fairly educated and developed and understands and is concerned with Lebanon's economic predicament and the debt threat hanging over the country's head. While the silent majority may not be wealthy, it is ambitious and realizes that for any economic recovery to be sustainable there needs to be political and economic stability, coupled with hard work and sacrifice. In the recent past, it has been willing to quietly pay its fair share to ensure such objectives.

For the most part, the silent majority is politically neutral - and until now many thought apathetic. It watched boisterous leaders parade by but hardly ever moved. It does not support any single party in Lebanon because Lebanon's parties are splintered and sectarian in nature. The silent majority prefers nationalists, and Lebanon's sectarian system hinders this.

Internationally, while it may believe in certain causes, the silent majority has etched into its memory the bitter experiences of the Lebanese war and the price Lebanon paid for shouldering the causes of others. No longer swayed by regional sloganeering, it has become practical enough to realize that the country can no longer afford to be a proxy in regional wars nor a confrontation point with Israel. And while Lebanon's silent majority may wish to avoid signing a separate peace treaty with Israel, it does not advocate war with it either.

Why did this silent majority move? Quite simply because it was tired.

Amazing really, how quickly the things the Realists told us we'd never see have become almost commonplace.

Posted by Orrin Judd at March 16, 2005 6:11 PM