We have started hearing a new expression in the past few days: “No going back to before May 7.”

May 7 – for those who have forgotten or do not know – was the day that armed militants from the March 8 coalition attacked the Lebanese capital, Beirut, terrorizing and subjugating its people. This resulted in a number of things, of which the following are the most important:

First: An unprecedented deterioration in civil and confessional relations.

Second: Raw physical force is used to arbitrate political life.

Third: Enforcing the rule of law is more difficult than it was before.

So those who say “no going back to before May 7” are essentially praising these events instead of apologizing for them and seeking to mitigate their effects. This means, unfortunately, that those who utter this expression choose the deterioration of civil relations, the rule of raw force and the undermining of the rule of law. Nations, according to this point of view, are built with violence, subjugation and dominance, not by politics, and those who work to turn that page must be reminded, or rather threatened, that there is “no going back to before May 7.”

In reality, this point of view is based on previous watershed moments, like February 6, 1984 when it was said “no going back to before February 6.” Since that time, the state has been ineffective, while inter-confessional relations have deteriorated. Then there was the July War, and of course “no going back to before the July War” also. 

My intention here is to point out the relevant comparisons. Those who say “no going back” are saying that we should no longer long for a period where there was less damage, less destruction and fewer debts, and where confessional and political relations were less characterized by mass fears and suspicions.

And when all these moments are taken together, we come to an astonishing conclusion regarding personal desire and the interpretation of history – our history – at the same time:

When it comes to desire, by saying “no going back,” we are saying that we might as well strive for public catastrophes rather than seek to annul or wipe away their negative effects. It is indisputable that he who creates catastrophes and dictates desire is always the proponent of raw, blind force. Power like this is what determines our present and our future, while reason, politics and diplomacy must remain silent.

Regarding the interpretation of history, these various moments of “no going back” indicate that we walk a path of ascending progress. Events like the July War and the attacks of February 1984 and May 2008 usher in a bright future, which no one – save the traitor – dares challenge.

For anyone who knows anything about contemporary Arab history, the history of defeats, military coups and the ensuing call for “not going back,” it is obvious that the geniuses of March 8 are merely adding a few lines to an already bloody story.

This article was translated from its original Arabic version, which appeared on the NOW Lebanon Arabic site.