Freedom and its absence in Lebanon and the USA
Regional, Analysis, 6/1/2009

The Lebanese elections are due to be held shortly, and emotions are high by many Lebanese who see great stake in who wins and looses. In general, the groups tend to break down into two sides, those who are more liberal socially, and are considered by opponents as pro-west, and the other side, who are more conservative socially, and are considered by opponents as pro-Syria and pro-Iran.

The socially liberal, along the lines of the Christians and Sunni Muslims, mostly tend to fear social conservatives, such as the Shiites, represents by Hizbullah and others, who they regard as backward or not progressive socially, and they accuse them of holding allegiances to foreigners instead of Lebanon and the Lebanese. They accuse them of trying to follow what they regard as failed political systems such as those Syria or Iran, which they regard as repressive and very opposed to Lebanon's liberal political tradition of democratic practice. They also fear the conservative's association with countries like Iran which they fear because they think Iran would like to implement an Islamic social system which would greatly limit the social freedoms traditions available in Lebanon.

On the other hand, the social conservatives, accuse the social liberals of being associated with the West, and the USA, and as being opposed to the Arab identity of the country and Arab nationalism, and not focusing on the Arab stand against Israel.

Rather than focus on the merits of either side, I will shed light on a central subject associated with elections: the course of freedom, social and political freedoms Lebanon has had over the years, and how they compare in part to other advanced countries, freedoms that have greatly degraded during and after the civil war that Lebanon suffered; be it the essential freedom of speech where journalists and politicians got killed for their views or fear of being killed, or social freedoms that come from instability such as the ability to move freely and securely.

I, as someone who lives in the USA, and have focused greatly on issues of freedom and politics, and knowing how well-regarded the level of freedom is in the USA, I could not help but be impressed by how lacking freedom is in the USA in some domains when compared to Lebanon, and how important it is to preserve and enhance what Lebanon has in its system, and for the USA to consider these freedoms for itself.

Freedom of religion

If we start by comparing freedom of religion in Lebanon and the USA, we will be surprised by how much more freedom there is in Lebanon for "freedom of religion" than in the USA, in that in the USA there is no "freedom of religion", but rather I will characterize it as "freedom from religion." A USA citizen who may have the Mormon religion is not allowed to practice his faith completely if his faith allows him to marry more than one wife. Similarly for a USA citizen who may be Muslim. However, in Lebanon, the government allows each religious group to live according to their own believes. So in Lebanon, a Mormon or a Muslim can marry more than one wife. Very few Lebanese do this if any, but nonetheless, citizens have this right if they choose to exercise it, a freedom that is not available and is also made illegal in the USA.

The important of this particular religious freedom, marriage type, is in the fact that it is a contract between consenting adults, and if they choose to enter into such a contract by themselves without infringing on the right of others, than the state should have no role to interfere.

Prostitution

Prostitution is illegal in the absolute majority of USA states, while legal in Lebanon, even if regulated. The importance of this particular freedom, is in the fact that an adult should have the right to use their body as they wish as long as this right does not infringe on the right of others. It is their body, and what they choose to do with it is their own business, no matter how unpleasant or sad a situation such a person has to be in to enter into prostitution, considering the social taboo that a person has to suffer, as generally prostitution is greatly looked down upon, even without considering the great health risks that can be involved. Yet, people engage in prostitution, buyer or seller, because they have needs and benefits that they see from this, and the government should not interfere in such private consensual transactions.

Private property

In the USA, many governments, state or city, have the "right of eminent domain " to seize private property, if the city, for example, needs to the property for its purpose, be this purpose commercial or civic need. So a city can proclaim that wants to build a road, a stadium or commercial site, and under this pretext, force someone to sell his house or property. In Lebanon, I was very impressed when my dad told me that he could reclaim part of a main town street we lived in that he still owns, because the mayor was annoying him, and the mayor did not know that my dad had several feet right, extending from our house into the street, rights which could not be taken by such concept as imminent domain. A person may be quick to judge this as a primitive right in that it would inconvenience many citizens of the city, however, without a thorough discussion and deep understand of the importance of full and complete respect to private property, it is difficult in a short space to explain the ramifications of such lack of right, since private property can be considered as one the foundations of freedom as we know it, and the resulting consequences that can come from this in the kind of economic and political system that will result, whether it will be a truly free economic system that is protected from the tendencies of bureaucrats, politicians, or citizens who may tend to think they can outsmart freedom and not understand its true value and benefit, or can tire from the hassles of freedom for short term comforts or gains. Nonetheless, freedom of private property, is much diluted in the USA by the concept of imminent domain.

Drinking of alcohol or smoking tobacco

Growing up in Lebanon, it was not unusual for me in my very early teenage years to have a beer or wine glass at the dinner table with the family, and the idea was not looked upon as strange in society. Such freedom of decision I think belongs to the parents to decide if they want their young children to drink alcohol or not, or to be able to purchase these items. Yet, these rights are greatly absent or restricted in the USA. As an adult now, I do not smoke or drink alcohol, because I think these are ill advised activities health wise. But, someone may want to drink or smoke freely, or want their children to have a glass of beer or wine without feeling that they are breaking the law and under threat. So if in Lebanon, a parent and their children can share a glass of wine in a restaurant, as in many parts of the world, without feeling like a law breaker, then Lebanon has more social freedom than in the USA in this regard.

Political freedoms, and freedom of expression

The US government has passed laws and considered restricting freedom of speech, under such nice sounding titles "laws against hate speech" and "laws against supporting terrorism." Yet, these are laws that restrict what a person can say when these issues are matters of personal believe and done without infringing on another person's right. In Lebanon, I was not aware of such laws prior to the civil war. But later, when Lebanon was under the influence of Syria, it did regress to adopt laws restricting freedom of speech. And these were further constricted by the tremendous efforts the USA placed to have other countries place such activities under stricter control, be it by encouraging directly countries to do so, or by promoting use of international treaties to force indirectly all countries to abide by such laws. So in this example, we see similarities in in that freedom of expression is under attack and has diminished in both countries.

Recently and interestingly, a USA citizen was reported to have been convicted for selling TV satellite equipment. The satellite equipment allows the reception of international TV stations, particularly that of Hizbullah group, a Lebanese organization that the USA considers to be a terrorist organization. This is not only a restriction of economic activity that the government should not interfere with, but a great infringement on the freedom of speech, where USA citizens should have the right to freely hear any speech they want. Unlike other governments that restrict what the citizens can say or hear, the right to hear should be a fundamental component of the right to speech, else, how can citizens know what others are saying, if they are prevented from hearing it. An very informed citizen should be our goal, a citizen who can decide for himself what he would like to listen to or not, and does not need to be told by the government what he can or cannot listen to. Sadly, in Lebanon, Hizbullah would probably want to censor others from hearing different views as several years ago, reportedly, they targeted and attacked several TV stations that they opposed. What this illustrates is that many like freedom when it is the freedom to take away other people's freedom, if they can get away with it. Sadly, what these governments or people do not realize is that when they take away freedom from others, they take away freedom from everyone, including themselves. That is why protecting freedom is such difficult task to advocate and do properly; it demands great understanding of the benefits that freedom brings, and the magnificent value that freedom represents.

That Lebanon has regressed after a long and devastating civil war can be understandable. I do not know much about the status of personal freedoms in the USA immediately after its civil war. But what is important to note is that Lebanon was a place of great freedoms to grow up in, freedoms that are not available in many advanced Western countries. And, more importantly is that freedom is regressing in many places around the world, in places where it might be expected that such freedoms would be increasing, in places such as the USA. This can be attributed to a lack of understanding about what freedom is, and its benefits.

These are very small examples about the lack of freedom that a citizen suffers, but they pale in comparison to the major losses of freedom we suffer which I have not addressed here. If you care about such issues and want to find how badly and sorely freedom is lacking in the USA and worldwide and how to address this, you may want to read my books starting with the book "A Second American Revolution: creating rational government" where I address this subject in much greater detail.

By,
Jamil Kazoun


Author of the book: A Second American Revolution: Creating Rational Government
and the book: A Third American Revolution: A New World Government . A Plan for Liberty, Justice and Peace"

Previous Stories:
  How freedom of speech and citizens are victims in the Arab states   (6/23/2008)
  How words mislead the public   (6/16/2008)
  The serious problem of many Muslims   (3/31/2008)
  Prejudice of Lebanese Christians, and choosing a president   (1/22/2008)

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