meditations

Sunday, June 8, 2008
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A HOUSE DIVIDED
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The sanctimonious patriotic prick who asserts moral and intellectual superiority is a far greater threat to our survival as a nation than all our enemies combined. This type of individual discusses our problems as if he were the first to do so. That's because he has neither interest nor respect for what has been achieved in the past by far better men than himself. His sole aim in life is to project the image of an individual endowed with unique powers of perception and to silence anyone who dares to question his judgment and integrity. In short, he is that most repellent of all creatures: an Armenian with political ambitions.
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If a problem that has been solved is no longer a problem, it follows we have no problems. What we have instead is a long line of so-called leaders who have consistently obstructed the path of those willing to implement solutions.
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The more a nation is in need of intellectual and moral guidance, the more intolerant it gets. The Soviet Union under Stalin, Germany under Hitler, China under Mao, Italy under Mussolini, Armenia and the Armenian diaspora today.
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If you want to understand your fellow men, begin by asking yourself: “What if, instead of being better or the best, I am the worst?” Naregatsi's LAMENTATIONS may be said to be a long-winded but honest answer to this question, and in that sense it is the most unread and misunderstood masterpiece in our literature.
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Monday, June 9, 2008
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TRYING TO MAKE SENSE
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If there is someone out there who has the solution to all our problems but refuses to share it with the rest of us, it may be because he doesn't relish the idea of being crucified.
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Collectively we are hidebound and ignorant – all dogmatic people are. There is indeed some truth in the popular adage “People have the leadership they deserve.”
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When a capitalist explains reality or God, he makes sure his explanation will not harm his capital. The same applies to a boss with an ideology and a bishop with an orthodoxy.
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After dividing mankind into them and us, a nationalist, or anyone who subscribes to a belief system, will proceed to divide “us” into yes-men and dissidents as free speech goes down the drain.
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If you make sense, don't expect to be understood by fools.
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
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Warning: Do not read what follows, it may cause irreparable damage to your ego.
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“I didn't know that!” is not argument but an admission of ignorance. Which raises a number of questions: Why is it that we are more eager to contradict than to learn? Why is it that some central facts about our power structures and establishment figures have been kept from us? Who profits by our ignorance?
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To solve our problems? Nothing could be further from my thoughts. If we have consistently ignored, sometimes even rejected, all solutions, including those that have come down to us from heaven, what are the chances that we will even bother to consider the solutions provided by a marginal scribbler who may well be an enemy of the people?
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Who is an enemy of the people? Anyone who refuses to kiss the fat ass of a megalomaniacal nonentity with political ambitions.
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It is not always easy to tell which part of a yes is prompted by subservience or inability to think for oneself and which by consent.
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Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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Some of the most venomous e-mails I receive are from Armenians who tell me I should be more positive.
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All subservient people harbor deep inside somewhere an imperialist ego.
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The two most important ideas of all politically ambitious charlatans may be summarized as (one) You are either with me; (two) or against me.
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What is the difference between a fascist head of state who silences intellectuals and a sanctimonious prick who ignores them?
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A useful no can be more fruitful than a useless yes.
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I write one-liners because I don't particularly care for the sound of my own voice.
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The misunderstood, neglected, and impecunious writers is a cliché and I have such a horror of clichés that I prefer to identify myself as an unemployed and unemployable misfit.
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