Wednesday, March 19, 2008

as i see it

Sunday, March 16, 2008
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CHOICES
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Since the beginning of time, men have tried to understand and explain reality. To that end they have created systems of thought and belief that attempt to do the job. But since these systems contradict one another, none of them enjoys universal acceptance. As a result, not only do we have believers and heretics, but also bad believers and good heretics, and an infinite number of shades of gray.
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A good Christian is one who accepts misfortunes as punishment for his sins. A committed idealist is one who views his defeats as results of his failure to live up to his principles. A good historian is one who analyzes the past objectively and honestly without allowing a belief system or ideology to contaminate his perception of reality. Are we or have we ever been good Christians or idealists? Do we have honest and objective historians? Can a good Christian live among bad Muslims and vice versa?
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One of our right-wing (i.e. pro-establishment and partisan) pundits recently concluded a commentary with the words, “Armenians are their own worst enemies.” If we assume that to be an irrefutable fact or historic reality, the only answer – or rather, the beginning of a tentative answer – is, if as Armenians we cannot love one another, let us at least make an effort to hate less. If we can do that, we may have a remote chance to qualify as human beings. If we can’t do that, we shall have no choice but to conclude “mart bidi ch’ellank.”
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Monday, March 17, 2008
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NOTES / COMMENTS
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To prove that we enjoy complete freedom of the press in the Diaspora, a dedicated member of the Party once said to me: “None of my articles has ever been rejected or modified in any way.”
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Our political parties don’t need members who have acquired the skill to think for themselves; they need robots whose favorite words are “Yes, sir!”
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Only thoroughly brainwashed and moronized Armenians think they are smart.
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When a good cause falls into the hands of perverts, it turns into a curse.
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While we mourn our victims, we should also mourn our judgment, for it too was massacred.
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If you get emotionally involved in an argument, you will be at a disadvantage because the gut cannot compete with the brain.
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It is only when you think you are smart enough to fool others that you expose yourself as a fool.
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Dogs and cats are treated better in America than the Untouchables in India. Our dissidents are our Untouchables.
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A front-page headline in our paper this morning reads: “Dalai Lama appeals to the world for help in Tibet.” Who speaks for Armenians?
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
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LINES
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A good patriot is one who cannot admit that the actions of his enemies may also be motivated by patriotism. To those who say, patriotism does not justify the massacre of innocent civilians, I say, neither should it justify violating anyone’s fundamental human right of free speech. And I dare any one of our partisan papers to print these lines.
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Where there is talk of denialism, anti-Armenianism, treason, and betrayal, can a lynch mob be far behind?
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Readers who are pro-bullshitism call me anti-Armenian, which may suggest that some of them cannot tell the difference between Armenianism and b.s.
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If your parents, schoolteachers, and parish priest dealt with your education (some would call it indoctrination), I am afraid you need professional help because I do not feel qualified to de-program you.
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Some of my readers qualify as good Armenians only on the grounds that their “tongue is sharper than a Turk’s yataghan” (Zarian), and they are more than willing “to survive by cannibalizing one another" (ditto).
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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ON CONTROVERSIES
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Where there are controversies, there will also be individuals on both sides who know the truth but who prefer not to share their knowledge. Their aim is not consensus but never-ending conflict.
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When Turks and Armenians paint themselves all white and their adversaries all black, odars may be justified in suspecting that both sides are guilty of misrepresentation.
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Armenians who love to quote Saroyan’s pro-Armenian statements should be reminded that he also said he felt sorry for the Turks; and when Armenians adopted Palestinians as their role models and engaged in acts of terrorism and assassination, he (Saroyan) was at a loss and could not understand why his fellow Armenians behaved that way. Perhaps one reason Saroyan loved Armenians, or so he said, was that he neither knew nor understood them completely.
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In our culture smart wheeler-dealers rate above honest men. That is unfortunate because more often than not the smart in step one become dumb in step two, perhaps because there is a natural tendency in all smart people to overestimate themselves to the same degree that they underestimate their adversaries.
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Where there is a big mouth, there will also be a small brain.
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ARA BALIOZIAN
PERTINENTES IMPERTINENCES
traduit de l'anglais par Mireille Besnilian, Dalita Roger, Denis Donikian
************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ******
Vient de paraître pour la première fois en français un choix d’aphorismes d’Ara Baliozian le mal-aimé. Traduites de l’anglais par Mireille Besnilian, Dalita Roger et Denis Donikian, ces « Pertinentes impertinences » font aujourd’hui l’objet d’un magnifique recueil publié par la maison d’édition Actual Art d’Erevan en Arménie, dont le maître d’œuvre est Mkrtich Matevossian.
Méconnu, sinon méprisé, mais tout autant lauréat de nombreux prix pour une œuvre qui touche aussi bien à la fiction, au théâtre, à la poésie qu'à la critique littéraire et à la traduction, Ara Baliozian est une figure rare d'écrivain prolifique, talentueux et anti-conformiste qui met sa plume au service de ses convictions. Son franc-parler salutaire en dérangera plus d'un.
Pour exemples de ce franc-parler : « Le problème avec les Turcs, c’est qu’ils croient ce que disent leurs hommes politiques. Notre problème ? Le même ». Ou encore : «Une controverse arménienne est un massacre sans effusion de sang. » Et enfin : «Cela vaut la peine de se rappeler que la ploutocratie et la démocratie sont des concepts mutuellement exclusifs ».
Ces extraits sont tirés du journal qu'Ara Baliozian tient depuis plusieurs années et qu'il diffuse à des correspondants du monde entier depuis Kitchener au Canada, généralement sous forme d'aphorismes, par le truchement d'Internet. Ses observations et ses analyses sont celles d'un moraliste iconoclaste qui ne s'en laisse pas conter et qui attaque frontalement les non-dits, les tabous et les préjugés de sa culture d'appartenance.
Parions que le bon sens dont il fait preuve mettra le lecteur dans la même disposition que celle de William Saroyan disant : « Je lis tout ce qu'Ara Baliozian écrit, avec fascination et gratitude ».

On peut se procurer le livre en écrivant à : denisdonikian( at)gmail. com
ISBN : 978-99941-831- 5-9
10 € + 1,50 € pour frais de port.


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