nice

Thursday, July 30, 2009
*****************************************
ONCE UPON A TIME...
******************************************************
When I was a child, these words were pure magic, even when I knew what was to follow because I had heard it countless times.
Expect no magic here, only some facts that may be hard to swallow by those of my gentle readers with overly sensitive stomachs.
You have been duly forewarned. Parental guidance is required and all that jazz.
*
“Once upon a time we shed our blood for freedom. We are now afraid of free speech.”
These are not my words. I wish they were. These are the immortal words
(perhaps not as immortal as “Yes im anoush Hayastani,” but eminently immortal all the same) of Hagop Garabents (a.k.a. Jack Karapetian) who was neither a critic nor a dissident, but a dedicated patriot, a distinguished writer of fiction, a darling of the establishment, and on friendly terms with both sides of any divide you care to mention.
*
“Of the many forms of cowardice, fear of free speech is the worst.”
These are my words.
“The miracle is not that we survived our enemies. The real miracle is that we survived our leaders.”
These too are my words. Let us give the devil his due.
*
Anglo-Saxon arrogance is unbearable to me. But at least they have earned some of it when they sing, “An Englishman cannot be a slave” (in “Rule Britannia”). Now then, what the hell have we done to earn the right to exist as men among men? Subservience has become such an integral part of our character as a nation that we have allowed ourselves to be brainwashed into believing we are smart, we are progressive, we are creative, we are brave, and above all, we are lovers of freedom.
I suggest a nation that preaches freedom during the day and buries it at night, cannot live. It can only die the death of a thousand cuts – all of them self-inflicted.
*
We survived Suleiman the Magnificent, we survived Talaat, we survived Stalin, and we survived a wide assorted of shahs, padishahs, pashas, sultans, czars, and commissars. The challenge we now confront is: shall we survive our own bamboozlers, hoodwinkers, and flimflammers?
#
Friday, July 31, 2009
*****************************************
HAVE A NICE DAY!
******************************************************
When the French called Armenians “filthy,” Shahnour did not deny the charge but he explained it by saying it should be ascribed not to their nationality but to poverty. We are no longer poor, and yet, we hurl worse insults to one another. We behave like barbarians in order to prove we are civilized. Figure that one out if you can.
*
To those who accuse me of the unforgivable crime of insulting Armenians by quoting odar writers without bothering to check the evidence: may I ask what evidence do I really need to prove that even the most civilized people on earth are capable of behaving like barbarians in time of war, or for that matter, in time of peace?
*
To be objective in our context means to see the worst in ourselves and the best in others, including our enemies, especially our enemies. Only then may we have a more balanced view of the world in which we live and our relative position in it. There is nothing unusual or original in what I am saying. A thousand years ago, Naregatsi not only saw the worst in himself but he also made a long and detailed list of all his failings, transgressions, and sins, and we now consider him to be our greatest writer – a combination of Dante and Shakespeare, as a matter of fact. I have not reread Baronian, Odian, and Massikian recently but I don't remember a single character in their works with any redeeming features.
*
It is said of the 5th-century philosopher, David Anhaght, that he acquired his sobriquet “Invincible” by never losing an argument. If true, it was probably because he never lost his cool. Besides, what's the use of winning an argument if in the process you lose your dignity and self-respect?
*
If it is our intention to prove that Armenians are smart, progressive, creative, and civilized, the very least we can do is not to behave like “assh*les” and “sh*ts.” Relax, I am not quoting an ignorant odar academic but one of our own leaders, who ought to know, having dealt with Armenians all his life and having earned enough of their respect to qualify as a leader and a “defender of the faith.” Is this Armenian right or wrong? Are we what he says we are? Yes, certainly, in so far as only assh*les and sh*ts would choose a leader who is both.
*
Have a nice day!
#
Saturday, August 1, 2009
*****************************************
IT BEARS REPEATING
******************************************************
If wrong, I can be corrected. No sweat.
I speak for myself and no one else.
I have no reputation to defend and no interests to protect.
There is no harm in what I say.
Why should I be your enemy if my only crime is expressing your secret thoughts?
Don't say I don't understand you if you don't make yourself worthy of my understanding.
Why is it that the self-righteous are not always open to reason?
You cannot be right from the gutter. Neither can you explain the world if you don't understand yourself.
Armenians!
Who takes them seriously?
Only themselves.
Who cares what they think?
No one but themselves.
Who gives a damn whether they live or die?
Not even themselves.
#