Hello, Lebanon. It’s me, your friendly Green Patriot. If you have been following the news, then you are aware of our freshest political tragedy–the assassination of Dr. Chatah, senior aide to former Prime Minister Saad el-Hariri. Dr. Chatah was murdered by a bomb powerful enough to damage six buildings, injure 70 people, and kill at least six others.

My fellow Lebanese, I do not know what to say other than that now is the time for our country to remain strong and united. Every few months, we experience political violence and we are slowly but surely becoming desensitized to it. We succumb to it, and much of our country is coming to standstill because of it. Rather than engage in our usual active socio-political life, we are retreating into our homes, afraid to behave normally. At this rate, I do not know that we will be able to take permanent and sustainable measures that will improve our country. All I can say is that we have no future if we resign ourselves to living with political violence. Regardless of your political affiliation, now is the time to demand justice not only for an assassination, but for the disintegration of our nation. We deserve better, and we should act like it.