Saturday, April 20, 2013 ****************************************** BROTHERS ************************** If you go against the dominant mindset of your time, you can’t go wrong. You may be a perennial reject but the chances are you will be closer to the truth than the crowd. * At the turn of the last century Turks thought the fewer Armenians the better. During World War II Germans had a similar disposition towards Jews. Remember the American slogan: “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” * One reason Americans did not exterminate Negroes is that Negroes played a key role in their economy. Closer to home: our own attitude towards our critics and dissidents: the fewer the better but none is best. (I speak from experience.) * All genocides begin in the hearts of men and we are no exception. Now then, go right ahead and assert moral superiority. # NOTES & COMMENTS ******************************* Using profanities in an argument is like raising your voice to strengthen your position. It works only if your adversary is intimidated by noise. * I no longer search for the company of good men. If I can recognize and avoid the proximity of cold-blooded killers I am satisfied. * To those who accuse me of seeing only the dark side of our reality, I say: We have a long-standing literary tradition that prefers fiction to fact. Mine is a balancing act. * To lose a false friend is like defeating a dangerous enemy. * In the world of scholarship as in life the most valuable asset is a readiness to renounce a cherished idea. # NOTES / COMMENTS ************************************ Individuals may admit their failings but nations never! All nations are habitual and compulsive liars. This is as true of Americans as it is of Russians; as true of Turks as it is of Armenians. * We like to say we had a Golden Age when the West was wallowing in its Dark Ages. The question we avoid asking is: Who is responsible for frittering away our heritage? * A new revolution or regime opens the path to a new class of mediocrities, opportunists, and bureaucrats – sharks for short. More often than not the difference between the old and the new is in name only. Scratch the label and expose the scum of the earth. #