Re: elegy
April 11, 2010
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ON POPULARITY
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It is an honest man's duty to expose the dishonest because not to do so amounts to legitimizing their dishonesty and ignoring their victims. And because the dishonest outnumber the honest, he is bound to be unpopular.
My guess is, the Beatles made more money in a single day than Mozart in his entire life.
Popularity is for the birds and the likes of Elvis Pelvis.
Whenever I make myself unpopular with a reader, I think “mission accomplished.”
Can you name a single Armenian writer who was popular?
Naregatsi? Abovian? Baronian?
The first led an anonymous existence in a monastery.
The second committed suicide at the age of 43.
The third was betrayed to the authorities, driven out of business (as a publisher) and died of TB at the age of 49.
And they were the lucky ones.
Charents and Bakunin were worse off.
The first was betrayed, arrested, and committed suicide in a Yerevan jail at the age of 40.
The second was betrayed, arrested, tortured, and shot and the age of 38.
First nation to convert to Christianity?
Maybe, but in name only.
Intelligent, progressive, civilized?
Don't make me laugh.
Philistinized, Ottomanized, Sovietized (which also means converted to atheism)?
That's more like it
*
The Polish nation is in mourning today.
If what happened to them happened to us, I have every reason to suspect we would be celebrating.
*
When the truth is unbearable or unreachable, we lie.
#
April 11, 2010
************************************************** *
ON POPULARITY
**************************************
It is an honest man's duty to expose the dishonest because not to do so amounts to legitimizing their dishonesty and ignoring their victims. And because the dishonest outnumber the honest, he is bound to be unpopular.
My guess is, the Beatles made more money in a single day than Mozart in his entire life.
Popularity is for the birds and the likes of Elvis Pelvis.
Whenever I make myself unpopular with a reader, I think “mission accomplished.”
Can you name a single Armenian writer who was popular?
Naregatsi? Abovian? Baronian?
The first led an anonymous existence in a monastery.
The second committed suicide at the age of 43.
The third was betrayed to the authorities, driven out of business (as a publisher) and died of TB at the age of 49.
And they were the lucky ones.
Charents and Bakunin were worse off.
The first was betrayed, arrested, and committed suicide in a Yerevan jail at the age of 40.
The second was betrayed, arrested, tortured, and shot and the age of 38.
First nation to convert to Christianity?
Maybe, but in name only.
Intelligent, progressive, civilized?
Don't make me laugh.
Philistinized, Ottomanized, Sovietized (which also means converted to atheism)?
That's more like it
*
The Polish nation is in mourning today.
If what happened to them happened to us, I have every reason to suspect we would be celebrating.
*
When the truth is unbearable or unreachable, we lie.
#
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