# Can we hope? A small step towards MiddleEast Peace **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 2, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-hope-a-small-step-towards-middleeast-peace/672947 "2013-11-02T21:15:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-hope-a-small-step-towards-middleeast-peace/672947/1 "2013-11-02T21:15:51Z")
A young couple in Lebanon after having the country’s civil marriage, has now had a child. He belongs to no Sect, has no defined religious affiliation at all. Sect has been, IMHO, the prime driver of violence in Lebanon. > [@](#): > > The result has been a fragile political balance led by the president, who must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister, a Sunni, and the speaker of parliament, a Shia. Sectarianism has been the dominant characteristic of Lebanese democracy ever since, and civil society activists say politicians merely pander to their sects rather then strive to lead the entire nation. I think that this is a great move but can we begin to hope that this is a step towards lasting peace in the ME? To me Lebanon is a starting point, get that mess fixed and move outward. Full Story here. [http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/1/lebanon-s-first-sectlessbaby.html](http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/1/lebanon-s-first-sectlessbaby.html) **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-hope-a-small-step-towards-middleeast-peace/672947/2 "2013-11-02T21:21:09Z")
What’s to prevent him from declaring he’s a Shi’a or whatever when reaches the age of majority? If this is a step toward ME Peace, it’s like an amoeba moving one of its pseudopods about 1 Angstrom. I’m not sure how easy it is to “fix” Lebanon, but I don’t think it has any particular influence in the ME. Not like Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Iran. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-hope-a-small-step-towards-middleeast-peace/672947/3 "2013-11-02T21:33:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What’s to prevent him from declaring he’s a Shi’a or whatever when reaches the age of majority? If this is a step toward ME Peace, it’s like an amoeba moving one of its pseudopods about 1 Angstrom. > > I’m not sure how easy it is to “fix” Lebanon, but I don’t think it has any particular influence in the ME. Not like Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Iran. There is nothing to stop him from declaring he is anything but his parents are part of a movement that are declaring themselves “Sectless”. I happen to see this as a positive. Small but you have to start somewhere. **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-hope-a-small-step-towards-middleeast-peace/672947/4 "2013-11-02T21:36:05Z")
> [@Capt\_Kirk](#): > > There is nothing to stop him from declaring he is anything but his parents are part of a movement that are declaring themselves “Sectless”. > > I happen to see this as a positive. Small but you have to start somewhere. > > **Capt** Depends. Is one sect doing this while others are not? If so, then things get worse as the Sectful overtake the Sectless in the battle of the Sectses. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-hope-a-small-step-towards-middleeast-peace/672947/5 "2013-11-02T21:40:50Z")
I don’t know. If we liken it to race, say a kid in the US has one black parents and one white parent. It’s not like the child will be universally accepted by everybody. It’s human nature to include exceptions in “other” than “one of us”. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-hope-a-small-step-towards-middleeast-peace/672947/6 "2013-11-02T21:42:06Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Depends. Is one sect doing this while others are not? If so, then things get worse as the Sectful overtake the Sectless in the battle of the Sectses. Nice pun The original couple were from different Sects one Shia and one Sunni, they declared themselves Sectless and managed to marry with the help of an official in the Gov’t instead of the usual process, going to Cyprus and hoping it gets recognized. Did you read the article? **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-hope-a-small-step-towards-middleeast-peace/672947/7 "2013-11-02T22:38:39Z")
> [@Capt\_Kirk](#): > > A young couple in Lebanon after having the country’s civil marriage, has now had a child. He belongs to no Sect, has no defined religious affiliation at all. Sect has been, IMHO, the prime driver of violence in Lebanon. > > I think that this is a great move but can we begin to hope that this is a step towards lasting peace in the ME? To me Lebanon is a starting point, get that mess fixed and move outward. > > Full Story here. > > [http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/1/lebanon-s-first-sectlessbaby.html](http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/1/lebanon-s-first-sectlessbaby.html) > > **Capt** To be honest, not really for either Lebanon or the Middle East in general. To give an obvious example, we’re not going to see Jewish Israelis anytime soon declaring “We’re not Jews! We’re Palestinians!” Beyond that I think blood and soil nationalism European style has been vastly more destructive than religious identity in the Middle East. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-hope-a-small-step-towards-middleeast-peace/672947/8 "2013-11-02T23:07:53Z")
> [@Capt\_Kirk](#): > > Nice pun > > The original couple were from different Sects one Shia and one Sunni, they declared themselves Sectless and managed to marry with the help of an official in the Gov’t instead of the usual process, going to Cyprus and hoping it gets recognized. > > Did you read the article? > > **Capt** I wasn’t referring to this one couple, since if it’s only them, then it’s not a trend. I was saying that if one sect is less likely to do this than the others, then it will likely make matters worse, not better. I’m no expert on Lebanon, but I seem to remember that it’s the Shi’a who are the poorer demographic. If a bunch educated, upper class Christians and Sunni start some new, hip trend, but the Shi’a by and large don’t play along, then they “win”. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-hope-a-small-step-towards-middleeast-peace/672947/9 "2013-11-02T23:20:03Z")
You know, I heard last week about a guy who votes Republican marrying a girl who votes Democrat. So I guess that solves that whole Obamacare issue, huh?