Sunday, March 30, 2014 *********************************** NOTES / COMMENTS ***************************** Free speech is useless in an environment where everyone thinks he knows better. * My first royalty check bounced. Things went downhill after that. That’s the way it is with Armenians. Things tend to go downhill; seldom or never uphill. And you can’t say I hit bottom in a bottomless environment. * Turks did what they did because they understood the world better than our bosses and bishops. I don’t include benefactors because there were none in the Ottoman Empire. We owe benefactors to American income tax laws. * Observe a man’s face carefully and you may be able to count the number of dreams that turn into nightmares. # PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE *********************************** They are not islands but peninsulas. They are extensions of one another. To understand one we must understand the other. * The need to understand what happened, what’s happening and what may happen is universal. Writers can help. They are not always right, of course. But if they are honest witnesses they may reveal a new aspect of our reality. As for politicians: Listen to Zarian: “Our political parties have been of no political use to us. Their greatest enemy is free speech.” * Why should anyone give a damn about us if all we care about is massacres? * Diplomats may never ask “What’s in it for us?” but that’s their number one concern. * Sometimes to give up means to come to terms with reality. * What if the end for all of us is the same? – silence, darkness, and nothingness? # CRITICIZING THE CRITIC ***************************************** Some of my critics not only read everything I write but they also feel compelled to share their wisdom. They seem to be unaware of the fact that I find disagreement, even insults, more stimulating than silence. * PLAGIARIZING A CLICHÉ ********************************* There is a saying in America: “The government is the real problem.” When I say “Dividers are our problem,” I mean the same thing. * MY POSITION ************************** A mosquito arguing against spiders. * BELIEVE IT OR NOT ******************************** Even when I quote the Bible I am contradicted. # MEMO TO MY CRITICS **************************** Reject me by all means. After all, who am I? Only a minor scribbler who can’t even make ends meet. But think twice before rejecting the writers I quote and paraphrase. For more details, see my DICTIONARY OF ARMENIAN QUOTATIONS.) * No one will ever to admit to being for corruption, incompetence and crimes against humanity. And yet, history provides us with many examples of criminal regimes that enjoyed majority support. * There is a Hitler and a Stalin in all of us. If none of us made it to the top, it may be because historic conditions and many other factors were against us. Long live mediocrity! # ENEMIES *************************** Men of faith who believe in nothing. Men of wealth whose only god is Gold. Leaders who cannot even lead a dog to the nearest fire hydrant. Patriots who preach heroism but practice cannibalism. Academics who are masters of the blame-game. Fund-raisers whose specialize in larceny. Speechifiers who preach ideals and principles but will do anything for money. Sermonizers who are fornicators. Once upon a time we had only one enemy. Now they come in bunches. We never had it so good! #

ENEMIES *************************** Men of faith who believe in nothing. Men of wealth whose only god is Gold. Leaders who cannot even lead a dog to the nearest fire hydrant. Patriots who preach heroism but practice cannibalism. Academics who are masters of the blame-game. Fund-raisers whose specialize in larceny. Speechifiers who preach ideals and principles but will do anything for money. Sermonizers who are fornicators. Once upon a time we had only one enemy. Now they come in bunches. We never had it so good! #