We advance a new national culture that categorically rejects sectarian fanaticisms and distorted religious interpretations, and we refuse to permit religions to be transformed into rival political factions within society. As the Leader of the Renaissance observed with profound clarity: “Reaching the heavens requires ascent, not descent… and our fighting over heaven has caused us to lose the earth.”[1] This statement encapsulates a fundamental critique of the destructive consequences of sacralized conflict and the instrumentalization of religion for divisive ends.
Our national culture calls for the activation of reason as a living, critical force within society and for the comprehension of reality beyond the distortions of ignorance, fanaticism, and blind belief. It further urges a systematic examination of the sources of weakness and strength in our social life, as well as a rigorous understanding of our strategic enemy and its aggressive objectives. Through virtuous and certain knowledge, societies dispel the darkness of superstition, confront historical challenges, and move from confusion and doubt toward clarity and conviction—toward the luminous horizons of renaissance, and the summits of dignity, freedom, and collective triumph.
Social Nationalist thought advances a genuine reformist program for the establishment of a modern, democratic national state founded upon secularism, rationality, science, and systematic planning. In this state, all citizens are equal in rights and duties. It is governed by freedom and social justice, regulated by civil law, and administered by modern institutions that safeguard the human being, protect fundamental rights, and secure conditions of prosperity and well-being. There can be no true civil peace without freedom, no civil peace without social justice, and no civil peace without equality.
Our struggle ultimately seeks the dignity and victory of the nation, for life itself is rendered meaningless unless it is a life of freedom, honour, and self-respect. In this spirit, Saʿadeh declared: “We were raised seeking battle; battle never sought us. We were raised, and in our upbringing was a dignity that is the entire meaning of our existence—and we shall not relinquish the meaning of our existence for anything in the world.” [2]
[1] Antun Saʿadeh, The Complete Works, Vol. 8, 1948–1949, “Our Fighting Over Heaven Has Made Us Lose the Earth,” Kul Shi, Beirut, Issue 108, 22/4/1949.
[2] Saʿadeh, On the First of March, p. 94
