Political Garbage

As the time signaled the arrival of our lunch hour at the office, we heated up our food and gathered around the lunch table. As usual we started discussing various issues, when one colleague asked about the status of recycling plants in Lebanon. So one thing led to another and the story of garbage division into organic and inorganic matter by the major garbage disposal company in Lebanon, Sukleen, was recalled. The story’s conclusion was that efforts to establish a factory for categorizing Beirut’s garbage and hence send clean organic and inorganic material for recycling in their respective factories have failed due to political disputes. In other words, the factory’s location was not agreed upon by any political party because no one wanted it in “their” territory. As my colleague put it “I don’t want my or your garbage in my backyard and I don’t care what you do with it!” So large areas, like Dahyeh for example, ended up accumulating their waste in a huge in-land dumping area close to the airport. The story entertained yet surprised me, for I began to wonder: Are we so engrossed in our politics that we tend to politicize everything including garbage, or are we so clueless when it comes to politics?!

As defined by Webster’s English dictionary, politics is the “art or science of government; the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing a government policy; the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government”. Political actions were defined as “activities characterized by artful and dishonest practices”.
We should all recognize the word “art” in the definition and how some politicians have artistically excelled. Since dishonesty is the color used in politics, politicizing media, or in other words coloring media with dishonesty, could be a valid fact. It is true that various media resources around the world are politicized to serve a certain political body and attack the other by influencing the general public. Fox news, CNN, Al Jazeera, Al Manar, Future TV and LBC are just a few examples of visual media (going into other media resources will require another article!).

On the other hand, how valid is it to politicize religion for instance. All religions around the world call for peace and honesty. It is a pity to see leaders and whole nations for that matter, politicize religion and hence lead to severe consequences of such “art actions”. Throughout the course of history, humans have started and led massive wars in the name of religion. In addition to the blood shed and other losses, such wars and conflicts have increased the number of non-believers who argue that it is because of religion that people are killing each other around the world, so why believe in such a brutal and problematic concept? In fact, I am continuously bombarded by questions like “Where is God? What is he doing watching the continuous blood bath in the world you claim he has created?” Some might argue that religious wars are actually a result of unsuccessful political actions and so they do not fall under the umbrella of sound artful politics. Hence we are not politicizing religion. Yet, when you come to think of it, it is those extreme religious terms and speeches painted with the many colors of political deceitfulness that trigger the bomb. So, we are also politicizing certain terms to serve our ultimate goal: take control of governmental or territorial reigns.

Of course, since politics is an art and science being educated in universities around the world, it is a vital part of our lives. We actually use politics very often if not daily. It is actually healthy and advanced to have political views, insights and beliefs. It is believed that political affiliation and/or inclination is becoming part of human nature. Unfortunately, for many, the understanding of politics has become too advanced (or too backward!) that their artistic politicizations due to their perceptions have included political signals, symbols, body gestures and car horns! So the ultimate question that remains is: are we going to be able to co-exist in a world full of political garbage?

Beirut 1.2.2008