Friday, November 30, 2007
**********************************************
ARMENIANS OF THE WORLD UNITE
********************************************
You have nothing to lose but your dividers.
*
A divider who speaks in the name of the nation is a liar.
*
There is only one way for a liar to think truth is on his side and that is by lying to himself.
*
The best way to deceive people is to tell them they are too smart to be deceived.
*
Dogmas, be they religious or ideological, in whose name we are divided are lies.
*
If there is a god and if there is life after death, we may know the truth, but until then we are destined to know only a fraction of it; and a fraction of the truth can be more misleading and dangerous than a lie.
*
A divider, no matter how wise, honest, and selfless, cannot speak in the name of the nation, only a fraction of it, and more often than not, an extremely tiny fraction.
*
A divider who portrays himself as a savior is in reality a gravedigger. His prototype is the revolutionary in the Ottoman Empire.
*
Armenians who identify themselves as Armenians and say they are proud of their identity form only a tiny fraction of the nation. The overwhelming majority have been successfully marginalized, alienated, assimilated, silenced, and reduced to the status of non-persons. But they exist as surely as any one of our bosses, bishops, and benefactors. They may even be better human beings if only because they deceive no one by parading as saviors during the day and turning into gravediggers at night.
*
Armenians of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your gravediggers.
#
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
IN PRAISE OF FREE SPEECH
Thursday, November 29, 2007
*****************************************************
Not being a megalomaniac with messianic ambitions, I don’t claim to be in the business of saving the nation. Far better men than myself have tried and failed in that particular endeavor. Besides, no one can save a nation that has condemned itself to the death of a thousand self-inflicted cuts. My sole aim is to show that those who parade as our saviors are no better than swindlers who have learned nothing from history.
You cannot shape the future of a nation without taking into account the lessons of the past or ignoring its central message, which is as accessible as the biblical dictum “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” And because I have been saying as much I have been silenced and ostracized. A psychoanalyst’s job is to shed light on the dark corners of the psyche. A historian’s job is to expose blunders in order that they may not be repeated in the future. A surgeon’s job is to cut out diseased tissue that may threaten the body. Taking away a writer’s freedom of speech is like taking away a surgeon’s scalpel.
No man is an island. No one speaks just for himself. To violate the free speech of a single individual is to willfully ignore the views of a fraction of the community, which also means to further divide the nation. And why? All because “our betters” are too arrogant to admit they are nothing of the kind. What they are is human beings like the rest of us, capable of making mistakes – some of them petty, others of colossal dimensions.
###
*****************************************************
Not being a megalomaniac with messianic ambitions, I don’t claim to be in the business of saving the nation. Far better men than myself have tried and failed in that particular endeavor. Besides, no one can save a nation that has condemned itself to the death of a thousand self-inflicted cuts. My sole aim is to show that those who parade as our saviors are no better than swindlers who have learned nothing from history.
You cannot shape the future of a nation without taking into account the lessons of the past or ignoring its central message, which is as accessible as the biblical dictum “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” And because I have been saying as much I have been silenced and ostracized. A psychoanalyst’s job is to shed light on the dark corners of the psyche. A historian’s job is to expose blunders in order that they may not be repeated in the future. A surgeon’s job is to cut out diseased tissue that may threaten the body. Taking away a writer’s freedom of speech is like taking away a surgeon’s scalpel.
No man is an island. No one speaks just for himself. To violate the free speech of a single individual is to willfully ignore the views of a fraction of the community, which also means to further divide the nation. And why? All because “our betters” are too arrogant to admit they are nothing of the kind. What they are is human beings like the rest of us, capable of making mistakes – some of them petty, others of colossal dimensions.
###
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
FRIENDSHIP AMONG NATIONS
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
************ ********* ********* ********* ******
When some American diplomats opposed the recognition of our genocide, one of our Turcocentric pundits produced a widely circulated commentary titled “If our friends do it it’s not genocide.” Only an Armenian who does not understand history and has no conception of diplomacy could come up with such a headline.
Nations have neither friends nor enemies. They have interests. It happens to be in the interests of Washington today not to go against the wishes of Ankara not because Turks are friends but because they are more useful to them than we are. That’s all there is to it.
Because at the turn of the last century we thought the friendship of the Great Powers made us invulnerable, we rose, or rather our naïve revolutionaries did, against the Turks, and the Turks retaliated. One could say that our greatest tragedy was a direct result of the fact that we failed to understand the meaning of the word friendship in a historic or diplomatic context.
Now you may be in a better position to understand why medieval Jewish scribes thought a single misplaced word or letter in the Holy Scriptures may result in the destruction of the world.
#
"Our political parties have been of no political use to us.
Their greatest enemy is free speech"
Gostan Zarian
************ ********* ********* ********* ******
When some American diplomats opposed the recognition of our genocide, one of our Turcocentric pundits produced a widely circulated commentary titled “If our friends do it it’s not genocide.” Only an Armenian who does not understand history and has no conception of diplomacy could come up with such a headline.
Nations have neither friends nor enemies. They have interests. It happens to be in the interests of Washington today not to go against the wishes of Ankara not because Turks are friends but because they are more useful to them than we are. That’s all there is to it.
Because at the turn of the last century we thought the friendship of the Great Powers made us invulnerable, we rose, or rather our naïve revolutionaries did, against the Turks, and the Turks retaliated. One could say that our greatest tragedy was a direct result of the fact that we failed to understand the meaning of the word friendship in a historic or diplomatic context.
Now you may be in a better position to understand why medieval Jewish scribes thought a single misplaced word or letter in the Holy Scriptures may result in the destruction of the world.
#
"Our political parties have been of no political use to us.
Their greatest enemy is free speech"
Gostan Zarian
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
ON REASON, FAITH, AND WISDOM
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
************************************************
We should cherish our blunders for they are our greatest source of wisdom, provided of course they are acknowledged as such.
*
What have we learned from our genocide besides blaming it on others? If genocide cannot teach us anything, what can? If you say faith in God is the highest wisdom, then the question we must ask is: Where was God when we needed Him most? I am not questioning His existence, only affirming His refusal to micromanage human affairs.
*
God has given us a brain with which to think for ourselves. I am not saying reason is a substitute for God. What I am saying is, reason is one of His attributes, in the same way that arrogance is one of the Devil’s. And is not speaking in the name of God the height of arrogance?
*
If subservience to authority is the enemy of reason, what could be more irrational than subservience to bosses (who speak in the name of ideology), bishops (who speak in the name of God), and benefactors (who speak in the name of capital)?*
*
How many of our thoughts are our own? Can a man who is infatuated with his ignorance think? Allowing oneself to be brainwashed – is that not an offense against reason and God? And if we are unteachable, do we not condemn ourselves to being genocidable? Hence our unawareness of the fact that during the last hundred years we have been implementing the Ottoman policy of extermination by other means, that is, with our own version of “white massacre,” – namely, exodus from the Homeland and assimilation in the Diaspora.
#
************************************************
We should cherish our blunders for they are our greatest source of wisdom, provided of course they are acknowledged as such.
*
What have we learned from our genocide besides blaming it on others? If genocide cannot teach us anything, what can? If you say faith in God is the highest wisdom, then the question we must ask is: Where was God when we needed Him most? I am not questioning His existence, only affirming His refusal to micromanage human affairs.
*
God has given us a brain with which to think for ourselves. I am not saying reason is a substitute for God. What I am saying is, reason is one of His attributes, in the same way that arrogance is one of the Devil’s. And is not speaking in the name of God the height of arrogance?
*
If subservience to authority is the enemy of reason, what could be more irrational than subservience to bosses (who speak in the name of ideology), bishops (who speak in the name of God), and benefactors (who speak in the name of capital)?*
*
How many of our thoughts are our own? Can a man who is infatuated with his ignorance think? Allowing oneself to be brainwashed – is that not an offense against reason and God? And if we are unteachable, do we not condemn ourselves to being genocidable? Hence our unawareness of the fact that during the last hundred years we have been implementing the Ottoman policy of extermination by other means, that is, with our own version of “white massacre,” – namely, exodus from the Homeland and assimilation in the Diaspora.
#
Monday, November 26, 2007
THERE IS NO BUSINESS LIKE ARMENIAN LITERATURE
Monday, November 26, 2007
********************************************
THERE IS NO BUSINESS
LIKE ARMENIAN LITERATURE
***********************************************************************
When I went into this business I made a solemn promise to myself to be rude to no one, and for a number of years I kept my promise. I kept my promise until I realized that in our environment a writer, especially one that is not yet dead -- preferably butchered by a foreign tyrant -- is seen as a harmless drudge who will say anything and flatter any ego for less than minimum wage. There was another serious flaw in my promise that I became aware of only much letter. A morally superior stance towards individuals who consider their own moral superiority as an undeniable fact may easily be misinterpreted as cowardice or subservience. To put it more bluntly, moral superiority does not work with politically ambitious bullies who pretend to know better what’s good for the nation.
*
Behind every one of our defeats, catastrophes, and tragedies you will find megalomaniacal bullies who have been successful only in fooling themselves and a handful of followers into believing they are not meddlers and frauds but men of vision whose sole aim in life is to serve the nation.
*
I suggest next time we build a monument to victims, we should include all victims regardless of race, color, and creed. To do otherwise is to go against the central tenet of all major religions, including our own, namely, that all men are brothers.#
********************************************
THERE IS NO BUSINESS
LIKE ARMENIAN LITERATURE
***********************************************************************
When I went into this business I made a solemn promise to myself to be rude to no one, and for a number of years I kept my promise. I kept my promise until I realized that in our environment a writer, especially one that is not yet dead -- preferably butchered by a foreign tyrant -- is seen as a harmless drudge who will say anything and flatter any ego for less than minimum wage. There was another serious flaw in my promise that I became aware of only much letter. A morally superior stance towards individuals who consider their own moral superiority as an undeniable fact may easily be misinterpreted as cowardice or subservience. To put it more bluntly, moral superiority does not work with politically ambitious bullies who pretend to know better what’s good for the nation.
*
Behind every one of our defeats, catastrophes, and tragedies you will find megalomaniacal bullies who have been successful only in fooling themselves and a handful of followers into believing they are not meddlers and frauds but men of vision whose sole aim in life is to serve the nation.
*
I suggest next time we build a monument to victims, we should include all victims regardless of race, color, and creed. To do otherwise is to go against the central tenet of all major religions, including our own, namely, that all men are brothers.#
Sunday, November 25, 2007
the meaning
Sunday, November 25, 2007
*******************************************
THE MEANING OF MEANING
************************************************* The aim of all ideologies, religions, and philosophical systems is to introduce meaning into a meaningless world. Any meaning is better than no meaning. Hence the eagerness with which a belief system (from the highest religion to the lowest cult) is embraced by the unthinking. Breakdowns occur when a belief system loses its creative impetus and fails to evolve and adapt to the new reality. After a succession of defeats in the hands of barbarians, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, the favorite goddess of the Athenians, lost her eminence and legitimacy. One could also say that the Athenians betrayed and abandoned Athena or wisdom itself when they condemned to death Socrates, the wisest among them. Something similar happened to Communism when it degenerated to Stalinism, which denied the validity of dialectical progression, which is based on dissent.After evolving from a jealous tribal chieftain to one that is committed to the brotherhood of all men, the Christian god lost his legitimacy when it degenerated to racism, nationalism, and capitalism, which divided mankind into antagonistic groups – superior and inferior races, friends and enemies, workers and exploiters – all of which stand in direct contradiction to the brotherhood of all men. For meaning can be as cruel as the god of the Old Testament: deviate an inch, or fail to evolve, or lose your creative impetus and face catastrophe.#
*******************************************
THE MEANING OF MEANING
************************************************* The aim of all ideologies, religions, and philosophical systems is to introduce meaning into a meaningless world. Any meaning is better than no meaning. Hence the eagerness with which a belief system (from the highest religion to the lowest cult) is embraced by the unthinking. Breakdowns occur when a belief system loses its creative impetus and fails to evolve and adapt to the new reality. After a succession of defeats in the hands of barbarians, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, the favorite goddess of the Athenians, lost her eminence and legitimacy. One could also say that the Athenians betrayed and abandoned Athena or wisdom itself when they condemned to death Socrates, the wisest among them. Something similar happened to Communism when it degenerated to Stalinism, which denied the validity of dialectical progression, which is based on dissent.After evolving from a jealous tribal chieftain to one that is committed to the brotherhood of all men, the Christian god lost his legitimacy when it degenerated to racism, nationalism, and capitalism, which divided mankind into antagonistic groups – superior and inferior races, friends and enemies, workers and exploiters – all of which stand in direct contradiction to the brotherhood of all men. For meaning can be as cruel as the god of the Old Testament: deviate an inch, or fail to evolve, or lose your creative impetus and face catastrophe.#
Saturday, November 24, 2007
notes/comments/rreflections
Thursday, November 22, 2007
*********************************************
A LONG HISTORY IN BRIEF
***************************************
Of all fears, fear of free speech is the most cowardly.*Where there is deception there will also be fear of free speech.*A deceiver’s greatest fear is being exposed as a deceiver.*You may manipulate reality up to a point, after which reality will manipulate you. It happened to Napoleon. It happened to Hitler. It happened to our revolutionaries. And it’s happening today to Bush, the leader of the mightiest empire in the world.*Sooner or later we have no choice but to come to terms with reality as with death and taxes. How do we do that is up to each one of us. What I have been recounting in brief notes and essays so far is an outline of my own way, which may not be yours. In which case you must devise your own. To place your hopes on others is to forfeit your freedom and ultimately to be disappointed.*When Europe entered its Dark Age, Armenia experienced a Golden Age. But when Europe experienced a Renaissance, we entered a Dark Age, which was to last 600 years that culminated in a series of massacres and dispersion; and in the Homeland, a civil war, and another Dark Age under a series of ruthless tyrants. As for freedom from the Soviet yoke, independence, and victory over the Azeris: I am told there are Armenians today who miss the good old days under Stalin. *Our Dark Age is not yet over because we continue to be at the mercy of leaders who masquerade as shepherds and are fearful of free speech because they run the risk of being exposed as swindlers on their way to the slaughterhouse.
#
Friday, November 23, 2007
**************************************************
EUPHEMISMS
********************************
When, during World War I, the Japanese forced Korean women into prostitution, they called them “comfort women” – their comfort and the Koreans’ degradation.Some words share this in common with the moon -- they have a dark side, which we ignore at our peril. Case in point: patriotism and nationalism don’t just mean love of one’s nation but also hatred not only of enemy nations but also fellow countrymen who do not agree with us. I just finished reading a collection of interviews with some of the most bloodthirsty and ruthless dictators of the 20th century (among them Idi Amin Dada, Bokassa, Duvalier, Mengistu, and Milosevic). As you may have guessed by now, one of their favorite words is patriotism.*When we describe ourselves we also confess because we use words whose dark side we ignore. It is not at all unusual for an Armenian to speak or even to brag about his Armenian identity even as he exposes his Ottomanism. Which is why we need impartial and objective analysts much more than the Vatican needs devil’s advocates. If the Pope blunders and makes a saint out of a rascal, he harms no one. But when a political leader blunders, the result may well be defeat, massacre, and genocide.
#
Saturday, November 24, 2007
*******************************************
AS I SEE IT
*****************************
Armenians have been so systematically divided that no matter which side of an issue you take you will have 50% support – or rather 5%, because Armenians have also been so thoroughly alienated or marginalized that they stay away from all controversies and community affairs. Their stance may be described as somewhere between “a plague on both your houses” and "mart bidi ch’ellank.”*Speaking of Turkish pundits, Orhan Pamuk writes: “They presume to be experts on everything, because they seem to have an answer to any question…[they are] “Professors of Everything.” That’s another thing we share in common with Turks: dime-a-dozen pundits with more answers than questions.*“Is there life after death?” a reader wants to know. I don’t know. That’s a question for bishops. I am only a minor scribbler. I don’t even know if there is life after birth.*A master of the blame-game is never wrong.*There is no hatred as vicious as the hatred of a charlatan suddenly and publicly unmasked.*It is not enough to be against Turks; one must also be for something. Neither is it enough to be for Armenians: one must choose between the bloodsuckers and their victims.*Silencing dissenters only postpones the inevitable catastrophe.#
*********************************************
A LONG HISTORY IN BRIEF
***************************************
Of all fears, fear of free speech is the most cowardly.*Where there is deception there will also be fear of free speech.*A deceiver’s greatest fear is being exposed as a deceiver.*You may manipulate reality up to a point, after which reality will manipulate you. It happened to Napoleon. It happened to Hitler. It happened to our revolutionaries. And it’s happening today to Bush, the leader of the mightiest empire in the world.*Sooner or later we have no choice but to come to terms with reality as with death and taxes. How do we do that is up to each one of us. What I have been recounting in brief notes and essays so far is an outline of my own way, which may not be yours. In which case you must devise your own. To place your hopes on others is to forfeit your freedom and ultimately to be disappointed.*When Europe entered its Dark Age, Armenia experienced a Golden Age. But when Europe experienced a Renaissance, we entered a Dark Age, which was to last 600 years that culminated in a series of massacres and dispersion; and in the Homeland, a civil war, and another Dark Age under a series of ruthless tyrants. As for freedom from the Soviet yoke, independence, and victory over the Azeris: I am told there are Armenians today who miss the good old days under Stalin. *Our Dark Age is not yet over because we continue to be at the mercy of leaders who masquerade as shepherds and are fearful of free speech because they run the risk of being exposed as swindlers on their way to the slaughterhouse.
#
Friday, November 23, 2007
**************************************************
EUPHEMISMS
********************************
When, during World War I, the Japanese forced Korean women into prostitution, they called them “comfort women” – their comfort and the Koreans’ degradation.Some words share this in common with the moon -- they have a dark side, which we ignore at our peril. Case in point: patriotism and nationalism don’t just mean love of one’s nation but also hatred not only of enemy nations but also fellow countrymen who do not agree with us. I just finished reading a collection of interviews with some of the most bloodthirsty and ruthless dictators of the 20th century (among them Idi Amin Dada, Bokassa, Duvalier, Mengistu, and Milosevic). As you may have guessed by now, one of their favorite words is patriotism.*When we describe ourselves we also confess because we use words whose dark side we ignore. It is not at all unusual for an Armenian to speak or even to brag about his Armenian identity even as he exposes his Ottomanism. Which is why we need impartial and objective analysts much more than the Vatican needs devil’s advocates. If the Pope blunders and makes a saint out of a rascal, he harms no one. But when a political leader blunders, the result may well be defeat, massacre, and genocide.
#
Saturday, November 24, 2007
*******************************************
AS I SEE IT
*****************************
Armenians have been so systematically divided that no matter which side of an issue you take you will have 50% support – or rather 5%, because Armenians have also been so thoroughly alienated or marginalized that they stay away from all controversies and community affairs. Their stance may be described as somewhere between “a plague on both your houses” and "mart bidi ch’ellank.”*Speaking of Turkish pundits, Orhan Pamuk writes: “They presume to be experts on everything, because they seem to have an answer to any question…[they are] “Professors of Everything.” That’s another thing we share in common with Turks: dime-a-dozen pundits with more answers than questions.*“Is there life after death?” a reader wants to know. I don’t know. That’s a question for bishops. I am only a minor scribbler. I don’t even know if there is life after birth.*A master of the blame-game is never wrong.*There is no hatred as vicious as the hatred of a charlatan suddenly and publicly unmasked.*It is not enough to be against Turks; one must also be for something. Neither is it enough to be for Armenians: one must choose between the bloodsuckers and their victims.*Silencing dissenters only postpones the inevitable catastrophe.#
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