Author: Tadevosian Garnik

NEW BOOK ABOUT FATE OF ARMENIAN MARTYRS

Azg/arm
29 March 05

Recently, the Writers’ Union of Armenia organized the presentation of
Argam Ayvazyan’s “Nakhijevan in the Fire Circle of Battles in 1905 and
1918-19” book. The author dwells on the massacres committed by the
Tatar-Turks against the Armenians of the historical Armenian provinces
that were included in the structure of the present Nakhijevan in
1905-1918-19.

Since 1965, Argam Ayvazyan has been engaged in researching the
historical-architectural heritage of Nakhijevan. This is the 15th work
of the author. The book consists of two large chapters that, according
to the author, touch upon many new sources, documents and memoirs.

Besides, the book includes over 100 photos picturing the former and
current situations of the Armenian dwelling places of Nakhijevan, maps
that depict the Armenian historical monuments.

Hakob Petrosian, representative of “Yerkir ev Mshakujt” (Country and
the Culture) International NGO, closely connecting the author’s name
with Nakhijevan, represented his book and emphasized the importance of
such works. He said that the time will come and such book will become
a land.

By Gohar Gevorgian

Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)
SDA – Service de base français
23 mars 2005

Visite de Micheline Calmy-Rey en Turquie Réconciliation sur fond
d’échanges économiques Avant-papier

Berne (ats) Le voyage de Micheline Calmy-Rey en Turquie, du 29 au 31
mars, doit consacrer le retour à des relations plus sereines entre
Berne et Ankara, après les tensions de l’automne 2003, selon les
observateurs. Les incitations à renouer le contact sont surtout
économiques.

La cheffe du Département fédéral des affaires étrangères (DFAE)
rencontrera mardi son homologue turc Abdullah Gül. Les deux ministres
feront “un large tour d’horizon” des sujets qui touchent les deux
pays comme “les droits de l’homme, les minorités ou les relations
économiques”, précise le conseiller diplomatique de Mme Calmy-Rey
Roberto Balzaretti.

Interrogé sur la possibilité que la conseillère fédérale aborde la
question du génocide arménien, il a répondu qu’il sera difficile
d'”éviter de toucher aux questions qui ont fâché par le passé”.

Un précédent voyage de Mme Calmy-Rey en Turquie avait été annulé en
septembre 2003, suite à la reconnaissance par le Grand conseil
vaudois des événements de 1915. En décembre 2003, le Conseil national
avait lui aussi adopté un postulat reconnaissant le massacre des
Arméniens par l’Empire Ottoman, suscitant l’ire d’Ankara.

“Leçons à l’étranger”

Françoise Saudan (PRD/GE), membre de la Commission des affaires
extérieures qui s’est rendue en Turquie en août, met en garde: “il
faut être extrêmement prudent, le génocide reste un problème latent
pour la Turquie tant qu’elle n’aura pas fait ce que nous avons fait
pour les fonds en déshérence”. “Je suis toujours mal à l’aise quand
la Suisse veut donner des leçons à l’étranger”, poursuit-elle.

“Mme Calmy-Rey ne va pas à Ankara pour ajouter aux tensions, mais
pour approfondir les relations entre la Suisse et la Turquie”, note
Jean-Jacques de Dardel, chef de la Division politique I du DFAE, qui
sera du voyage. “Les autorités turques sont devenues beaucoup plus
ouvertes face aux problèmes de leur société, le dialogue est
désormais possible”, souligne-t-il.

Mme Calmy-Rey et M. Gül doivent également aborder la question de
l’adhésion de la Turquie à l’Union européenne (UE). Si Ankara rejoint
l’UE, l’économie helvétique profitera d’un marché élargi, avait
estimé la cheffe du DFAE en décembre. Quant à la libre circulation
des personnes, son extension à la Turquie pourrait faire l’objet d’un
délai transitoire ou d’une dérogation permanente.

Les crises en Irak, pays voisin de la Turquie, et au Moyen-Orient
devraient aussi figurer au menu des discussions. Mme Calmy-Rey sera
en outre reçue par le président turc Ahmet Necdet Sezer pour une
visite de courtoisie.

Sud-est kurde

Au deuxième jour de son voyage, elle se rendra à Diyarbakir, la
grande ville kurde du sud-est “pour avoir une vue différenciée du
pays”, selon M. Balzaretti. Elle s’y entretiendra avec des
représentants locaux et des ONG. Mais, à la différence de ce qui
était prévu en 2003, elle n’examinera pas les projets de la Direction
du développement et de la coopération (DDC).

Ce volet de la visite avait été mal perçu par Ankara en 2003. Peu
après l’annulation du déplacement, les autorités turques avaient
accusé Mme Calmy-Rey de partialité envers la cause kurde pour s’être
entretenue avec un représentant de cette communauté à Lausanne.

Partenaire économique

Enfin au dernier jour de sa visite, Mme Calmy-Rey prononcera un
discours devant la “communauté commerciale Suisse-Turquie” à
Istanbul. “La Turquie est le partenaire économique le plus important
de la Suisse au Moyen-Orient. Chaque année une quarantaine de firmes
helvétiques s’y installent”, relève M. Balzaretti.

“Les investissements suisses sont bien présents en Turquie, notamment
dans la pharmaceutique et le textile”, renchérit Marcel Cavaliero,
président de la chambre de commerce Suisse-Turquie. Il pense
toutefois qu’il faudra attendre la visite du ministre de l’économie
Joseph Deiss en septembre pour assister à un “nouvel essor des
relations économiques” entre les deux pays.

–Boundary_(ID_r+NNz43N2XYbvSZkFrSngw)–

Russia’s Putin arrives in Armenia

Public Television of Armenia, Yerevan
24 Mar 05

[Presenter] Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife arrived in
Yerevan a few minutes ago. They arrived on an invitation from
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan. Putin is paying a working visit
which will end tomorrow evening. Our correspondent Lilit Sedrakyan
reports details from Zvartnots airport.

[Sedrakyan, over telephone] Putin’s plane landed at Zvartnots airport
a few minutes ago. President Putin and his wife have just got off the
plane. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan and his wife, Bela
Kocharyan, have welcomed them.

Armenian government members and high-ranking officials are also
meeting the Russian delegation. Journalists from various media
outlets have also arrived with the Russian delectation in Yerevan.
The Russian president’s working visit will start early in the morning
tomorrow at the residence of the Armenian president. But today they
might have a brief meeting at the airport.

Armenia not interested in breaking cease-fire with Azerbaijan – minister

Aravot, Yerevan
24 Mar 05 p 3

The Armenian defence minister has dismissed Azerbaijani accusations
that Armenia is breaking the cease-fire in the conflict over Nagornyy
Karabakh. Serzh Sarkisyan told journalists that the Armenian side
was holding the positions it took back in 1994 and did not need to
open fire and advance on the front line. Describing as nothing new
remarks by the Azerbaijani leadership about the possible resumption
of hostilities, he warned the Azerbaijani defence minister that “war
is not a piece of cake”. Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan hoped that
the bellicose statements from Azerbaijan were for local consumption
only. Serzh Sarkisyan also said that a report on Armenia’s national
security would be published within a month. The following is the
text of Margarit Yesayan’s report in Armenian newspaper Aravot on
24 March headlined “How real is the danger of war? Defence Minister
Serzh Sarkisyan and Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan comment on this”;
subheadings have been inserted editoria! lly:

No weapons smuggled from Armenia to USA

Yesterday [23 March] Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan confirmed once
again that the criminal group arrested in the USA had not exported
weapons from Armenia. The minister said that to date the investigation
did not have any facts or evidence that weapons had been exported
from Armenia to the USA or other states. Declaring that he did not
know the details of the case, he added that it was important for him
to keep weapons and ammunition safe.

Armenia not interested in breaking cease-fire

Journalists also touched on bellicose statements from the Azerbaijani
side and on statements that allegedly the Armenian side is breaking
the cease-fire on the border. Serzh Sarkisyan replied: “It is obvious
to anyone who knows the ins and outs of the Karabakh conflict that the
Armenian side does not need to fire at all, the Armenian side has no
problem to settle, the Armenian side does not have a problem moving
ahead or improving its positions because back in 1994 it improved
its positions, that is to say, it took the positions that it thought
the most advantageous. Although the Azerbaijani defence minister
may say that Armenia is to blame for all this or initiated this,
it is evident that this is a lie and a slur.”

In his latest speeches Azerbaijani Defence Minister Safar Abiyev has
not ruled out a resumption of full-scale war and the Azerbaijani
president has been saying the same. Serzh Sarkisyan said this is
nothing new: “But I want these people to remember once and for all
that war is not a piece of cake [literally, that no-one gives out
pilaff in a war]. I would like Safar Abiyev to remember his past,
I think this will be very useful for him. As for the Azerbaijani
president, owing to certain circumstances I cannot allow myself to
comment on what he said.”

Evidently, the “certain circumstances” are that Ilham Aliyev is the
president of Azerbaijan and, if necessary, the Armenian president
will respond to him.

New national security blueprint to be published soon

Asked about the prospects of Armenian-Russian relations deepening from
the national security point of view, Serzh Sarkisyan replied that a
report “On the national security of the Republic of Armenia”, which he
had delivered to the top brass, would soon be published. The defence
minister said that the report presented the threats to Armenia’s
security and ways to neutralize them. The report also touches on
Armenia’s attitude to NATO, Russia, the European Union and the USA. The
full version of the concept will be ready and published in a month.

No good to come of Azerbaijani sabre-rattling

In his turn Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan also said
that the aggressive statements of the Azerbaijani side would lead
to nothing: “These statements will lead to nothing positive and
Azerbaijan should understand this.” Are Ilham Aliyev’s and other
Azerbaijani officials’ bellicose statements only for local consumption
or are they more serious and would it be wrong to ignore them? Vardan
Oskanyan hopes that they are for local consumption: “Let us hope they
are for local consumption and that the Azerbaijanis themselves do not
believe what they are saying. We have said many times that Azerbaijan
has already made a mistake twice in this matter, we think that the
third mistake will be the last.”

No “crude violation” of human rights in Armenia

We noticed that on 14 March, when he made a speech to the UN Human
Rights Commission in Geneva, the Armenian foreign minister viewed
the genocide problem from the human rights’ standpoint. But are human
rights protected enough in Armenia? “I think they are well protected,
the situation is not perfect, we have much to do on this issue,
but I would not say there is a crude violation of human rights in
our country.” We would like to remind Mr Oskanyan that in connection
with the April 2004 events alone [protests against President Robert
Kocharyan] 17 applications have been sent to the European Court of
Human Rights and their number will reach 30 by May. But there are
thousands of cases over which Armenian citizens are unable to apply
to the European Court.

Moreover / The ineffable charm of Charles
By Gideon Levy

Ha’aretz, Israel
March 24 2005

French singer Charles Aznavour steals the show at the Leipzig book
fair.

Saturday afternoon, Leipzig: Pure delight

A short old man, with sparse gray hair and dated attire, ascends the
stage with the blue couch – the central interview site in the
entrance hall of the book fair. Yesterday and the day before, this
couch was sat upon – separately – by David Grossman, Yoram Kaniuk and
Amos Oz, whose attire wasn’t all that spiffy either, and they also
attracted a sizable crowd, but nothing like this man has. He looks
like the elderly neighbor from across the hall, in his holiday best,
with his blue jacket and gray trousers and shiny shoes, like one of
the most charming images from our childhood.

The crowd cheers. He waves to them as one of his immortal songs plays
in the background. A chill goes up the audience’s collective spine as
all eyes watch him sit down on the sofa – flesh and blood, in arm’s
reach. The interviewer asked her questions in German, he answered in
his Armenian French, and the translator of his book, which was just
published in German, translated into the local language. Ladies and
gentlemen, Charles Aznavour.

No setting would be more incongruous in which to encounter this giant
of song, the last great avatar of the chanson, than this sprawling
book fair in Germany’s Saxony region. Writers have given a thousand
readings here, but his appearance was the emotional high point.
Brassens, Montand, Brel and Piaf have all been gone for some time.
Only he is left, like a rare bird from an endangered species. He will
turn 81 next month and he is as vital and charming as ever; his deep,
throaty voice unchanged, making him instantly identifiable even when
he’s not singing.

His relationship with Piaf was something “between love and
friendship” and his dependence on her was “a willful dependence.” His
father used to wake him up every morning when he came home totally
drunk from his nights on the town – it was a warm and loving family.
The “operation on his hair” – a hair implant or something like that –
changed his life, and he felt the need to share the experience with
everyone. He displays the piece of hair that goes from back of his
head to the front, still covering for what’s no longer there.

He once appeared at the Moscow opera house and all the tickets were
given to Communist party hacks. There wasn’t a seat left for his
grandmother. Outside, the Soviet masses wrote graffiti: “The concert
belongs to the party but Aznavour is ours.” Aznavour wanted his
grandmother. He asked the organizers from the Kremlin: “Do you know
how to sing? My grandmother knows.” And the concert didn’t start
until his grandmother was there.

Yes, he smoked and drank a lot his whole life, but only cigarettes
and only whiskey. That’s why he’s had such a long life. Does he have
any regrets – to echo Piaf’s immortal song? “I haven’t thought about
that question yet,” he says. “I’ve had such a wonderful life. I was
poor, but I was never miserable.”

In April, Nana Mouskouri will perform in nearby Dresden, as part of
her World Farewell Tour. The posters are already up around the once
devastated and now beautifully rebuilt city, and in December, the
bassist from Queen, another scion of an endangered species, is due to
perform there, too. And we’ve got Eurovision songstress Shiri Maimon
(autobiography coming soon).

Putin to arrive in Armenia on two-day visit

RosBusinessConsulting, Russia
March 24 2005

RBC, 24.03.2005, Moscow 10:51:08.President of Russia Vladimir
Putin will start today on his two-day working visit to Armenia.
During his stay in Yerevan, the President is to hold negotiations
with President of Armenia Robert Kocharian and lay a wreath to the
Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, commemorating victims of the Armenian
genocide. Presidents of the two countries are expected to attend
meetings of Russian and Armenian high-ranking officials. During his
visit, Putin will also take part in the opening ceremony of the Year
of the Russian Federation in Armenia.

The program of the Year of Russia in Armenia envisages around
120 joint political, economic, humanitarian, scientific, and
inter-regional events. Furthermore, the parties propose to arrange
industrial fairs and exhibitions, intensify economic information
exchange, and hold scientific conferences devoted to various issues
of bilateral and regional economic cooperation. The year 2006 will
consequently be announced the Year of Armenia in Russia.

Foreign Ministry issues statement on OSCE fact-finding mission’s report

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
March 23 2005

Baku, March 22, AssA-Irada

The Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday on the monitoring
held by the OSCE fact-finding mission in the occupied regions of
Azerbaijan. The mission has confirmed the fact of illegal settlement
of Armenians in the occupied territories, it said.

“The OSCE fact-finding mission prepared the report based on the
evidence provided by the Azerbaijani side, as well as the facts
discovered during the monitoring. The number of the settled residents
determined by the mission, mainly by means of visual assessment,
nearly matches the figure provided by Azerbaijan.”

According to the data presented by Azerbaijan, 20,000 to 23,000
Armenians have been settled in the occupied lands. The figure stands
at over 17,000 in the mission’s report. The data on the organized
settlement in Lachin, confirmed by the fact-finding mission, raise
serious concerns, as Armenians had not lived in this region before.
Azerbaijan says that 13,000 people have been settled in the Lachin
District. However, the figure indicated in the report is between
8,000 and 11,000.

The statement further reads that although the fact-finding mission
does not provide a direct answer to the question about the planned
settlements in the occupied regions, there is plenty of evidence in
its report and materials forwarded by Azerbaijan, as well as in top
Armenian officials’ statements, confirming Armenia’s support for the
settlement process.

The document says that the coordination of activity between Armenia
and its separatist regime in Upper Garabagh, which the mission did
not include in the report, is beyond a doubt.

If the mission did not find evidence on Armenia’s involvement in
the settlement process, this means that Armenia has carried out this
activity through separatists of Upper Garabagh.

The statement further reads that the attempts to provide evidence on
non-involvement of Armenia in the settlement process are groundless.
In accordance with the international law, Armenia, as an aggressor,
bears all the responsibility for any activity, including the settlement
of Armenians in the occupied lands.

The OSCE fact-finding mission held monitoring in the occupied
Azerbaijani regions from January 30 till February 5 after the
discussions of the situation in the occupied regions of Azerbaijan
at the 59th session of the UN General Assembly, held on Azerbaijan’s
initiative.*

Congressional Record: March 17, 2005

A TRIBUTE TO FLORA DUNAIANS, 29TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT WOMAN OF THE
YEAR–2005

______

HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

of california

in the house of representatives

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women’s History
Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the contributions and
sacrifices made by our Nation’s women during the month of March. It is
an honor to pay homage to outstanding women who are making a difference
in my Congressional District.
I would like to recognize an outstanding woman in my Congressional
District, Ms. Flora Dunaians. For many years, Flora has brought an
abounding spirit and energy to her service in the community. Those
fortunate enough to meet and work with Flora instantly recognize her
enthusiasm and passion for helping others, especially on behalf of the
Armenian American community and the arts.
Born and raised in Pasadena, Flora Jane Calusdian married George
Dunaians in 1958 and they had 2 daughters, Gigi and Suzie. In 1968 the
Dunaians formed their own business, Western Medical Supply, Inc., where
Flora is currently the Vice President and Secretary.
Flora is devoted to her church and community. For over 40 years,
Flora has been active at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic
Church, serving as Trustee and member of the St. Gregory Auxiliary. On the
occasion of the visit of His Holiness Vasken I, Catholicos of All Armenians
to the United States in
1987, Flora and George donated to the new cathedral fund for the
Diocese. In 1988 following the devastating earthquake in Armenia, the
Dunaians arranged for donated emergency goods to be flown to Yerevan on
Armand Hammer’s private plane. She has been involved in many church-
related projects throughout the Diocese, such as the Operation Karabakh
Fund, Operation Winter Rescue and Operation Fuel, and continues to
support various projects throughout the Diocese and the Holy See of
Etchmiadzin.
Constantly finding ways to improve the social condition for children
in Armenia, Flora co-founded Developmental Services for Armenia, a non-
profit organization that helps schools, orphanages and short term
projects. She also established and continues to support a dental clinic
at the Nork Military Academy in Yerevan.
Flora and George are both founding members of the Consulate of the
Republic of Armenia in Los Angeles. Flora is also a board member of the
Armenian Assembly of America, the National Board of Team Armenia, and
the Armenian Professional Society, where she and her husband have
opened their home to raise funds for student scholarships for the last
25 years.
In addition to her extensive community service, Flora is a supporter
of the Arpa Foundation for Film, Music and Art, the Pasadena Playhouse,
and the New York Foundation for the Arts.
I ask all Members to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman
of California’s 29th Congressional District, Flora Dunaians. The entire
community joins me in thanking Flora for her success and continued
efforts toward making the 29th Congressional District a more enjoyable
place in which to live and work.

Better relations that hark back to the imperial era

The Times Supplement
March 21, 2005

Michael Binyon on the indelible legacy of the Ottoman Empire

Some 26 countries with seats in the United Nations were once under the
sway, in varying degrees, of the Ottoman Empire. And the legacy of
this rule, lasting in some cases for 400 years, is indelible – be it
buildings, laws or cultural and culinary traditions of a world that
stretched from Morocco to the Gulf, from the gates of Vienna to Yemen.

The shrinking of the empire was a melancholy, long withdrawal as the
provinces broke away – by war, through colonial conquest or after
the empire’s final collapse in 1918.

Many of the newly independent states tried to bolster their individual
credibility with strident opposition to Turkey and the Ottoman past.
Greece, Serbia, the Arab world and the Balkans have all incited
popular emotion against the Turks.

Times have changed. Astute diplomacy has strengthened Turkey’s links
with its neighbours.

Reconciliation with Greece has been recent but spectacular. Turkey’s
size and economic strength gives it a regional weight that has proved
influential. Turkey has also begun, cautiously, to explore links
with its neighbours that hark back to imperial days.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of culture. Istanbul is
the most vibrant city got 1,000 kms in any direction. At a crossroads
between East and West, it is well placed as a centre where cultures
interact.

There has been a steady growth in regional links. The city is
reaching out to its old constituency. Arab writers and film-makers,
restricted in what they can say or show at home with censorship and
social taboos, feel freer in Istanbul. They come from Cairo or
Damascus, Tunis and Amman to take . up residence in a city that is
sufficiently Muslim and eastern to provide a familiar framework but
far more in touch with European culture than their own capitals.

Turkey is also reaching out to its Balkan neighbours. As one
intellectual remarked: “Every Turk has some ancestral connection.
There is a homesickness for these lands running through our music
and literature.”

The old connections were strikingly revealed during the Bosnian
wars. Turkey took in a million Bosnian refugees seeking shelter.
Turkey also took steps to save the physical heritage damaged by war.
After its destruction, the famous bridge at Mostar, built in 1556,
was rebuilt by Turkish engineers.

There is no unifying language; the Ottoman empire was itself polyglot
and did not insist on the use of Turkish everywhere. Northern Cyprus
is the only fully Turkish area outside Turkey, and the cultural,
political and ethnic connection to the mainland is as strong as it
is controversial. Dervis Denis, Turkey’s Minister of Tourism, says
that Ankara is giving help to Northern Cyprus to develop its cultural
assets, pointing out that 90 per cent of the island’s heritage,
including sites important to the Greeks and Christians such as the
Orthodox monastery Apostoilos Andrea, are in the north.

Mehmet Ala Talat, the Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus, says: “Arts
and cultural activities should be used for peacemaking and to make
people create empathy.”

In other areas, Turkey now understands its culture in a broad and less
nationalistic sense and is taking tentative steps in controversial
areas. There is, for example, daily discussion of the Armenian
massacres, with columnists arguing over the claims that this was
genocide.

A museum in Istanbul recently put on a display of sepia postcards
of the Armenian-inhabited towns before the First World, an evocative
reminder of a world whose recall would once have been taboo.

renewamerica.us, D.C
March 17 2005

Theology means little when it comes to activism

Chuck Baldwin

As most of my readers probably know, I am a pre-millennial Baptist.
That means I am dispensational in my understanding of eschatology.
Yes, Gertrude, I believe in the Rapture. However, many of my
Christian friends hold to Covenant or Reformed Theology and are
post-millennial in their understanding of eschatology. Still others
are Roman Catholic, and some claim no theology at all. When it comes
to civic activism, it doesn’t seem to make much difference.

Many post-millennialists believe that the reason more of my
dispensational brethren are not engaged in the political affairs of
this country is because of their theology. I know many Armenians who
feel the same way about Calvinists.

The fact is, one can find activists and the apathetic in every
theological camp. I know many Calvinists who are totally disengaged
when it comes to Christian activism, while dispensationalists are
very much engaged. The same can be said of Armenians, Catholics, etc.

Adding more quandary to the formula is the fact that there are many
non-Christians who are extremely involved in moral and spiritual
causes while many of their Christian counterparts (of any persuasion)
are noticeably absent from the public square. This has always amazed
me.

How is it that unsaved people can have more discernment and courage
regarding the crucial issues impacting our country than saved people?
But this seems to be the case many times over.

I even know Mormons (whom I believe are heretical regarding cardinal
doctrines of Christianity) who demonstrate more courage and more
appreciation for America’s founding principles than many of my
Baptist brethren. Incredible!

Rather than theology, it seems that personal zeal and courage are the
deciding factors that motivate people to activism. If one lacks
these, it really doesn’t seem to matter what brand of theology he or
she embraces.

For example, I often hear people criticizing pastors and churches for
accepting the IRS tax exempt status, because they believe this is why
pastors and Christians are not involved. However, as a Baptist pastor
for nearly thirty years, I see it differently.

In my opinion, the 501(c)3 tax status is only a tree that pastors use
to hide behind. If suddenly the tree is removed, they would find
another tree to hide behind. The problem is not the tree; it is the
cowardice of the one who hides behind it! The same could be said for
any other excuse pastors and Christians are using to not engage the
culture.

Of course, courage and personal responsibility are virtues that are
generated from within; they are not forced from without. One is
either willing or not, laws, regulations, and other interferences
notwithstanding.

Therefore, I think it is time to stop blaming outside encumbrances or
denominational nuances and start putting the blame where it rightly
belongs: upon the shoulders of each and every one of us as American
citizens (regardless of our theology) to stand for the principles
upon which our country was established!

One will find just about every denomination of the Christian faith
represented among America’s founding generation. Yet, they all
accepted their personal responsibility to actively engage the
cultural and political direction of the country. So must we!