Despite there being no evidence of any successful nation in the world without a shared collective national identity, many Lebanese are quick to dismiss any serious discussion about the need for such an identity.
Firstly, prejudice against the notion emerged, due to tribal, cultural or religious sensitivities, even though none of the Abrahamic religious books actually contradict any features of Lebanese history.
It is important to understand that interpretation of texts in all religions has tended to evolve with time and can also often become politicized.
In addition, many ordinary citizens simply reject attempts to strive for a collective identity.
Some view it as imposing something on others and canceling sectarian identities. In reality, it is the lack of a national civic pluralistic identity that threatens the prosperity and coexistence of sects.
Some view it as a decorative or secondary aspect of institution building. They don’t view the collapse of the Lira, deposits, security and the lack of electricity as anything connected to the identity issue.
Some think that no national narrative exists, and that creating one would be artificial. They hear sectarian narratives filled with fallacies, to be discussed in next article.
Some view identities as concepts as static and homogeneous as languages, when in reality, they are complex and morph over time.
Some view a national identity as a racial or cultural superiority concept, one that rejects neighboring cultures. Identities can be civic pluralistic types, which can choose to focus on ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious or civilizational heritage.
Some commit the fallacy of association. For example, Individual A is a racist who doesn’t like Lebanon’s neighbors. Individual A also promotes a strong national identity. Therefore, national identities must also be bad.
Some view a national identity as mutually exclusive with a regional identity, or one that rejects Lebanon’s regional Arab identity or cultural heritage. Most countries in the world actually hold both national and regional identities simultaneously.
Spain is a European country that promotes pan-European values, yet if it did not possess a strong national identity, it would have realistically already collapsed by now.
Some view nationalism as an evil concept. Many were taught that nationalism was the cause of wars and state oppression. This simplistic view has made it hard for many people to distinguish between civic pluralistic nationalism, and expansionist militaristic nationalism.
Some think that because finding a common identity failed in the past, it implies it will also fail in the future. Just like human beings only figure themselves out after puberty or a certain age, it takes time for nations to discover themselves. Creating an identity within a few years of being founded is difficult because of a lack of common memory as one nation, but after 100 years, there are a lot more shared experiences and lessons that can be used to create a template around which the identity is organized.