In a ‘Society of Resistence,’ Peace Is Hell
Reflecting on today’s New York Times story about how Hezbollah’s youth corps are part of a planned holistic society of resistance built by the Shiite Lebanese
Jul 31, 2020740.9K Shares11.2M Views
Reflecting on today’s New York Times story about how Hezbollah’s youth corps are part of a planned holistic “society of resistance”built by the Shiite Lebanese militant group, Andrew “Abu Muqawama” Exum has a really profound insight:
“„My worry is that the greatest danger in creating a society of resistance is that you might actually succeed. [Boston University professor Andrew] Bacevich may talk about militarism, but I worry more about these non-state actors who build up armed conflict as their . If peace in suddenly in your best interest a year or so down the road, for example, how are you going to tell these kids to stand down? Are they going to be happy working in a cell phone kiosk in Tyre?
That’s exactly right. The cynic will want to say that organizations like Hezbollah have no intentionof standing down, and the society-of-resistance crap represents a fairly thorough strategy.
My guess is kind of a modified view of that: they’re building the equivalent of an ideological perpetual-motion-machine, where their raison d’etremight be the realization of specific, not metaphysical, goals — like gaining control of Lebanon or the reconquest of Israel or what-have-you — but their ethicor espirit d’corpsis based around being implacable.
Call it a condition of permanent hysteria. Maybe it’s the case that in Year X, their best interests are to make peace. But they’re creating a mindset where they’ll never perceivepeace as being in their interests in any long-term sense.
To paraphrase Chris Hedges, a culture of resistance is a force that gives us meaning. To return to a bourgeoise life, or to chooseone — selling cellphones in Tyre, for example — is meant, I’d submit, to be a foreclosed option. The building of the society of resistance, says the recruiter to the youth-scout-in-training — *now that is the honorable profession. There’s time enough to sell cell phones in paradise. *
**It’s almost as if these guys are bad people or something.
Paolo Reyna
Reviewer
Paolo Reyna is a writer and storyteller with a wide range of interests. He graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies.
Paolo enjoys writing about celebrity culture, gaming, visual arts, and events. He has a keen eye for trends in popular culture and an enthusiasm for exploring new ideas. Paolo's writing aims to inform and entertain while providing fresh perspectives on the topics that interest him most.
In his free time, he loves to travel, watch films, read books, and socialize with friends.
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