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.#