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Sunday, February 10, 2008
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MEDITATIONS
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Nothing comes easier to an Armenian than to overestimate himself to the same degree that he underestimates his fellow men. Hence the familiar phenomenon of the inbred moron who assesses himself as a genius.
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You may think you know more about yourself than anyone else, but the truth is, what you know is so biased that it might as well be devoid of all value.
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Sometimes you are judged less by what you know, what you can do, or who you are, and more by your underarm deodorant.
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The aim of propaganda is to mislead and deceive not the enemy but ourselves.
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Patriotism is invariably connected to militarism, and the end of militarism is the slaughter of the enemy – in the name of self-defense, of course.
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It’s when you think you can do no wrong that you commit your greatest blunders.
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Monday, February 11, 2008
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TURKISHNESS & ARMENISHNESS
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A nearby university town plans to build a 75-foot tall tower proclaiming its “intelligence.” In a letter to the editor I read the following comment: “If we go ahead with this foolishness, most thoughtful people will regard our city as a bunch of idiots.” I agree. Nothing can be as idiotic as bragging about how smart we are.
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In the Ottoman Empire our daughters were forced into harems. Today they are driven into prostitution, as our sanctimonious benefactors spend millions building churches and museums, which are nothing but monuments proclaiming their greed, wealth, big egos, and arrogance rivaling that of sultans.
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That some of my readers hate me (and they never lose an opportunity to say so) I know. What I don’t know is whether they hate me more than they hate Turks.
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The more I deal with Armenians the better I understand Turks.
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To use love of country as a license with which to hate fellow countrymen is thought of not as a perversion and a liability but as a virtue and an asset called patriotism.
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We are united by hatred of the enemy but divided by hatred of one another. You may now guess which hatred is more damaging to the nation.
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The ugly Armenian is convinced that Armenishness is superior to Turkishness.
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Our second greatest tragedy, which we don’t even mention, is the fact that they had 600 years during which to successfully re-create us in their own image.
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
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PARADOXES AND CONTRADICTIONS
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In his NATURAL HISTORY, Pliny writes, “Not even for God are all things possible – for He cannot commit suicide.” Maybe not, but He can walk out on us, as He has done on more than one occasion. The question we should ask is: What if we gave Him more than one good reason to do so?
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The Armenian paradox: we don’t support one another but we demand the support of the world.
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With us, friendship is a sometime thing. Whenever I make an Armenian friend, I think of him as a future enemy and I am seldom disappointed.
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After deceiving himself, he deceives others with a clear conscience.
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We have been so thoroughly tribalized that sometimes the distance between two Armenians is as great as the distance between an Armenian and a Turk.
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Whatever understanding I have acquired of Turks it has been through my fellow Armenians.
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Armeno-Turkish friendship will be possible only on the day Armeno-Armenian friendship becomes a reality.
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
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PROBLEMS
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As soon as you solve a problem you are faced with another. That’s life – an endless succession of problems the last of which no one can solve.
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A good story cannot be the whole story, and a happy ending is only a beginning.
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Dupes can be easily manipulated to think they are too smart to be duped.
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I don’t write for Armenians as an Armenian. I write as a human being for fellow human beings.
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Academics write in a jargon-ridden turgid prose because they don’t want to be read and “understood” by laymen. Criticism by fellow academics is bad enough. What’s unbearable is verbal abuse by idiots.
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Studies show that getting involved in Armenian affairs can be as hazardous to your health as smoking four packs of unfiltered cigarettes a day.
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