as i see it

[arabaliozian]

AS I SEE IT
***************************
Only when I act against my own interests
do I feel I am on the right path.
*
We owe our worst catastrophes to
(i)Turks and (ii) Armenians whose identify
was shaped by Turks.
*
To the man who understands nothing,
life must appear as an endless succession
of catastrophes.
*
Lies may lead to power and popularity.
Truth, by contrast, can be lethal.
Consider the careers of Genghis Khan
and Napoleon to those of Socrates and Jesus.
*
Only a representative of
the lowest common denominator
dares to speak of his self-assessed
moral superiority.
*
After reading a clumsy
and incomprehensible sentence
bristling with neologisms
I imagine Tolstoy and Chekhov
saying the same thing in their own words.
#

[arabaliozian]

Re: as i see it

WARNING
*****************************
No need to read what follows:
I am about to repeat myself.
*
An angry reader:
“Stop criticizing benefactors –
they will stop giving.”
He didn’t look like someone
in need of anyone’s charity.
*
To those who say,
“If it weren’t for our benefactors
we wouldn’t have schools and churches.”
I ask: Am I to believe that
Armenians in America can afford
all kinds of luxuries but churches and schools
happen to be above their income bracket?
*
Can a man who is dependent
on the charity of swine be free?
Next question:
Are we, as a nation or community,
capable of governing ourselves?
*
No man in his right mind chooses
to be born a slave.
But to die a slave is a choice!
*
What do our schools and churches teach us?
Once a slave always a slave?
If it’s not the sultan it’s Stalin?
If it’s not Stalin it’s former KGB agents?
In the Diaspora today we are free
of sultans, commissars, and KGB agents
but we have bosses, bishops, and benefactors.
Once a slave always a slave!
#

[arabaliozian]

Re: as i see it

Our political leaders trusted Talaat, Stalin,
and Hitler, but they silence anyone
who dares to question their propaganada line.
Figure that one out if you can.
#

[arabaliozian]

Re: as i see it

WISHFUL THINKING
*******************************
Some of my Turkish readers operate
on the false assumption that
if am critical of our leadership
I must be on their side.
*
They expect me to believe
Talaat was not a butcher but a statesman.
As for Kemal: he was as great a man as Washington.
*
They publish books in which they say
the Genocide is a figment of our imagination.
It never happened.
*
After ruling over many nations and tribes
for 600 years they now find themselves defined
only by the Genocide.
*
They live in constant fear of assassination.
They see an Armenian behind every tree and bush.
They demonstrate in the streets with signs that say
“WE ARE ALL ARMENIANS,”
whose hidden message is:
“If you murder us, you may be murdering a brother.”
#