Thursday, August 05, 2004
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CRITICISM AND HATRED.
WHY IS ISRAEL PRO-TURKISH?
A REVERSAL OF ROLES.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF NATIONS.
THE IRRELEVANCE OF LITERATURE.
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The difference between being critical of American politics and being anti-American is that, Michael Moore’s FAHRENHEIT 9/11 is critical, whereas Muslim fanatics are anti-American.
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Something similar could be said of anti-Armenianism and of being critical of Armenian politics. Movses Khorenatsi, Yeghishe, Raffi, Baronian, Odian, Zohrab, Zarian, Massikian, Shahnour and many others were critical of Armenian politics, but Sultan Abdulhamid II and Talaat were anti-Armenian.
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Perhaps one reason the Israelis are pro-Turkish is that they would like to do to Palestinians what the Turks did to us. And I cannot help wondering what would have happened had the Ottoman Empire been an Armenian Empire and the Turks our “Armenians.” One guess: We would have done to them what we did to the Azeris in Karabagh (more or less), and having done so we would brag about it; and when asked to admit responsibility or guilt we would accuse our accusers of anti-Armenianism sure in the knowledge that we would have the support and understanding of all imperial powers who at one time or another had been in our position.
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Like individuals, nations too have their psychological complexes. This is not a secret. Anyone in a leadership position knows this but it is to his advantage to exploit these complexes rather than to analyze them, if only because analyzing them may expose him as a wheeler-dealer whose number one concern is number one but who must pretend otherwise by parading as a selfless and humble servant of the nation.
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Sartre is right. Literature solves nothing and helps no one. Our history is very clear on this point. Writing for Armenians is a waste of time. But I go on because Armenianism has been hijacked by rascals and standing by and saying nothing is as difficult as witnessing a gang rape and assuming a passive stance. So what if everything I have said so far doesn’t even amount to a whisper on a deserted street in the middle of the night?
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Friday, August 06, 2004
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DEFINING PROPAGANDA.
POWER STRUCTURES AND DISSIDENTS.
ARMENIAN HISTORY 101.
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One Way to define propaganda is to say that it is anything and everything that a power structure tells you.
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If a common crook or a pathological liar tells you 2+2=4, believe it. But if a power structure tells you the same thing, believe it not.
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To recycle propaganda means admitting two things at once: “I am a dupe,” and “I hate to think for myself.”
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Power structures are not monolithic entities; rather, they have internal fissures and divisions with constantly shifting alliances. A smart Armenian who wants to survive in our environment must sooner or later associate himself with and be subservient to either a boss, bishop or benefactor, all of whom unite only against a common adversary, dissidents. That may explain why Armenian dissidents are an extinct species today.
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The French beheaded their king, the Russians executed their czar, and the Italians hanged Mussolini. Our leaders have managed to survive because they brainwashed us to believe we owe our survival to them.
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“When the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch,” the Bible tells us. Our history in a nutshell.
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When the blind leads the blind and the inevitable happens, should we call that leading or misleading?
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When the blind lead the blind and if both are Armenian, they will brag about their survival even as they lament over their shattered bones.
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Saturday, August 07, 2004
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THE USES AND ABUSES OF PATRIOTISM.
DEFINING HOMELAND.
WHAT IS CULTURE?
MEMO TO A CRITIC.
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Why is it that some Armenians are not emotionally and intellectually equipped to disagree without engaging in verbal abuse? And to think that more often than not they are the very same Armenians who reject the label “Ottomanized.” And then there are Armenians who think there is nothing wrong in hating a fellow Armenian or an entire class of them so long as it’s in the name of patriotism; and their definition of patriotism is so narrow that any other definition is dismissed as treason.
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What is patriotism? Let’s see if we can define it or at least take a step in the right direction. If we say it is love of country (in the sense of homeland) then we shall have to define country: is it the real estate? — the mountains, lakes, rivers and valleys? Is it the Armenian people as a whole? Is it the present regime or the administration of justice? Is it the culture? Things, as you may begin to suspect, are not as simple as they may appear to be at first sight.
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If by country we mean the land, then we must ask the question: In what way Armenian mud is different from Turkish mud?
If it is the people: Does that mean you are less of a patriot if you hate or disagree with even a single fellow Armenian?
If it is our culture: What is culture? Or, who is qualified to define it? – a politician (whose central concern is power), a priest? (whose business is saving souls), or a writer (whose aim is to understand reality by separating fact from propaganda)?
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If, on the other hand, we adopt Goethe’s definition of homeland (“Wherever a man is allowed to work and provide for his family”) we may have to agree that Armenians of the Diaspora and Armenians in the Homeland who wish to emigrate (and I am told everyone except policemen and politicians does), Armenian patriotism might as well be an oxymoron.
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It took me about three decades to figure out what’s what and who’s who in our environment. Instead of calling me names or identifying me as an enemy of the people, I suggest you give yourself a little more time before you jump to conclusions – unless of course you happen to be one of our dime-a-dozen geniuses or self-appointed experts on any given subject born with superior powers of observation and understanding. In which case you should get busy sermonizing and speechifying in an effort not only to convert skeptics like me but also to re-interpret the work of many of our ablest writers who at one time or another adopted a critical stance.
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