myself

Thursday, July 04, 2013 *************************************** AS I SEE IT ************************* Can there be such a thing as an honest capitalist in the eyes of a Marxist? Or a good infidel in the eyes of a Muslim? Or a good Armenian in the eyes of another Armenian? * Kemal was smart: he knew he could count on the ignorance and stupidity of the average Turk. Our bosses, bishops, and benefactors are smart too… * Atheists are not born but made and what makes them is the arrogance, intolerance, and cruelty of men who speak in the name of God. * The enemy within is invincible. * “Homo homini lupus” (man is wolf to men). What is an Armenian to another Armenian? A lamb? * The Turks were smart: they knew they could get away with murder. We were dumb: we thought they wouldn’t dare! # ON POETS ******************************* In a recent issue of the NEW YORKER, that until recently consistently refused to print profanities, I read the following exchange: “You asshole,” she snarled. “You’re the asshole,” I said. “I hate you.” “Ditto,” I said. “Ditto and square it.” Because I favor short lines some readers think I am a poet. I am not! I don’t remember to have ever written a single line about nightingales serenading the moon or the eternal snows of Mount Ararat. Not my style. * As a failure I write about failures. It tales one to know one. And I don’t write. I snarl! * And speaking of poets: In Armenian-American parlance poets are referred to as vodanavorjis. # SPEAKING FOR MYSELF ********************************** The 1% may know better but when they are wrong they are catastrophically wrong – universal bankruptcy, wars, massacres, genocides… * I have more critics than a dog has fleas. I like to reply to all of them including the contemptible ones. But I draw a line to those who are beneath contempt. * In the first one-third of my life I was mostly busy committing blunders. In the second, I tried very hard not to repeat them. And in the final third my main concern is coming to terms with my mortality. As for saving the nation: I leave that to our dime-a-dozen pundits with Napoleonic ambitions. * If I can make a nuisance of myself to a handful of readers, I ask for nothing more. Now then, go ahead and call me a megalomaniacal daydreamer. #