These past couple of months have been eye opening to me in so many ways, but mostly, it has shown me that broken systems can exist in any country. Whether that country is one of the richest and largest nations in the world or a tiny member of the Middle East, the political dynamics that make up the various sectors of a governance will ultimately be decided by the people if the citizens of a nation can mobilize together.

Before 2020 began, I was watching a different country embark on a revolution. My family is from Lebanon, and during October of 2019, massive wildfires rampaged through the country. These wildfires were some of the worst Lebanon had ever experienced, and the conclusion of the fires left behind massive amounts of damage. In an effort to help pay for the wildfire damages, the Lebanese government announced that they would start taxing citizens for the usage of “WhatsApp,” which is the dominant form of instant messenger in the country.

For a country that had gone through multiple wars; years of dealing with electricity being cut for hours of the day; inconsistent freshwater supplies; inadequate methods of waste disposal; a stagnant government riddled with corruption and a tumbling economy, you would think that a revolution would have happened a long time ago. But alas, it was the “WhatsApp tax” that ignited what would become a full-blown scale revolution. 

Citizens took to the streets and spent days protesting, and as a result were able to not only get the government to eliminate the tax proposal, but also force political leaders to step down. In the midst of all the chaos that was going on, the one thing my parents were shocked to witness was the amount of unity that was seen throughout the country. Lebanon is one of the most diverse countries in the Middle East; as it is made up of many different religious sects. For the first time in my parent’s lifetime, they were seeing members of the Christian, Muslim and Druze communities holding hands, chanting together and raising not the flags of their own religious groups, but of the Lebanese national flag. There was finally one thing that all the different groups in the nation could agree on: their country’s governmental system was broken and needed to change.

And here we were, in the United States, thinking that while we didn’t have an ideal government, we at least had the essentials. We never had to worry about accidentally stepping on a landmine. We could turn on the lights whenever we wanted without thinking about the power being cut. We could turn on any faucet in the house and expect clean, fresh water to flow out. We believed that we were, at least, taken care of.

But the thing is, when a government no longer wants to protect its people, it plays out in a deadly manner. It’s seen when the president of a nation does all he can to roll back all environmental progress made. It’s seen when the president of a nation refuses to take the health impacts of a worldwide pandemic seriously and instead prioritizes economic gain. It’s seen when the president of a nation sides with murderers in the justice system and refuses to initiate actions for change.

At that point, we realized we weren’t being taken care of. We weren’t being protected; and when George Floyd was killed, that was our WhatsApp tax. George Floyd’s death was not any worse than the many Black individuals subjected to police brutality before him; it was the tipping point. After months of feeling like all we could do was stand by and count the days until the next election; a city in the Midwest decided enough was enough. And with that realization came the realization that we, the citizens, could no longer depend on our government to make change happen. We had to mobilize together- just as a tiny little country in the Middle East did a few months earlier- and ignite a revolution.

These past couple of weeks, I have seen our country practice unity in such a powerful and inspiring way. Seeing White Americans stand up to law enforcement officials, mayors and political figures for Black lives and acknowledge their privilege is something I’ve only really seen glimpses of through intelligently written articles, or thoughtful posts on Twitter. With this unity and with these efforts, we have seen action take place. Previous cases where Black lives were victimized to police violence have been reopened; police academy training is undergoing scrutiny and officers imposing violence on civil citizens are being held accountable.

The recent events that have taken place in Lebanon and here in the United States have shown me that if a democracy refuses to prioritize its citizens, it will fall at the hands of its citizens. By not supporting the implementation of policies that regulate and address the environment, public health, the justice system, education, healthcare or any other sector that makes up a nation’s society; a government can no longer claim that it is doing its job to serve the public. It is therefore left to the general public to decide whether they can deal with ineffective leaders vouching for an ineffective system that only benefits a few, or if they deserve better.

Public policy directs which way a country will progress, and sadly, it can be just as effective falling backwards as it can be moving forwards. Without good public policy, we will continue to live in a broken society. Without addressing bad public policy, we will not be able to grow. With the collaboration, unity and voices of the citizens who force political leaders to open their eyes to the problematic issues wreaking havoc on civil life, a country can finally be able to have hope to change for the better.

Reema Bzeih is a Master’s in Public Policy graduate from the University of California, Irvine, where she was a Carbon Neutrality Initiative Fellow. Reema is also a passionate environmentalist; her take on public participation and protests reflects her expertise in public policy. Hasrat is proud to promote her great piece of work.