notes / comments

[arabaliozian]

Re: notes / comments

Friday, July 13, 2007
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NAPOLEON AND GANDHI
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They fascinate me because they pulled the rug from under potentates, that is to say, bloodsucking mediocrities parading as leaders of men and representatives of God on earth. The means they employed were different but the end result was the same.
*
Only moronized people idolize leaders. Like all rules, this one too has its exceptions – Lincoln and FDR come to mind. But they too sat on a throne of blood. As for Napoleon and Gandhi: I see them less as leaders and more as destroyers of emperors, kings, princes, maharajas and similar riffraff.
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I am not in the business of solving problems but in exposing those who stand to lose the most if our problems are ever solved.
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Paul Tillich: “Life could not continue without throwing the past into the past, liberating the present from the burden.”
#

[arabaliozian]

Re: notes / comments

Saturday, July 14, 2007
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DEFINITIONS
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Politics: the art of manipulating the masses by means of lies.
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Literature: sharing perceptions.
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Chauvinist: a fanatic with 20/20 vision for his enemy’s failings and total blindness for his own.
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Turcocentrism: a school of thought that says our most important concerns, hence our welfare, inner balance, and identity, revolve around Turks.
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Which reminds me of a friend who, after urging me to change my last name, delivered the following comment: “As long as you bear a Turkish surname, you admit to having been branded by them.” And I thought: If only it were that easy to erase six centuries of subservience and all traces of Ottomanism by acquiring a new name!
#

[Anoush]

Re: notes / comments

Friday, July 13, 2007
*********************************************
NAPOLEON AND GANDHI
**************************************
They fascinate me because they pulled the rug from under potentates, that is to say, bloodsucking mediocrities parading as leaders of men and representatives of God on earth. The means they employed were different but the end result was the same.
*
Only moronized people idolize leaders. Like all rules, this one too has its exceptions – Lincoln and FDR come to mind. But they too sat on a throne of blood. As for Napoleon and Gandhi: I see them less as leaders and more as destroyers of emperors, kings, princes, maharajas and similar riffraff.
*
I am not in the business of solving problems but in exposing those who stand to lose the most if our problems are ever solved.
*
Paul Tillich: “Life could not continue without throwing the past into the past, liberating the present from the burden.”
#

Ara

Let me expand a bit your thoughts on the above third paragraph the way I understand it and add some of my own.

Extreme nationalists who are precoccupied by trying to solve our problems who go to extreme lengths for them by Btw; creating new parties, fighting against the existing parties in power, party leaders who draw masses to spew hate on an opposing party, fighting other opposing parties fiercely.

Then suddenly one day they are awakened to see that all or most of our major problems have vanished. Then at that particular point and time they simply wouldn't know what to do with themselves and their time. They will then be and feel in complete and huge emptiness and at a loss with themselves as there will be nothing more to fight about.

But isn't it part of life and living for a man to think, have and behold different and opposing idealisms with other men? Whether they are different ethics, mores, inner thoughts or simply seeing matters in a different perspective. Then at that particular moment isn't it the nature of men to fight for his thoughts and idealisms and to see them to win against an opposing one or a party? Then at that point in time a man will want to draw masses of people who practically think alike to win over the other. Especially when the opposing party would be a dangerous one for his nation or country, so he thinks.

Let me add that there is no man and no party that rules who will ever be fault free. Surely it is known that small men and small thoughts create small mistakes and but grand individuals or leaders will make huge mistakes; because it's inevitable. The greater the task, the bigger the mistake.

Now about Mr. Paul Tillich's writings. It's true that human psychologists stress for this to be; but it is in the human nature from time to time to think about the past. Though not dwelling but to learn from past mistakes.

When it comes to a nationality however; it would certainly be extremely unjust in a worse sense for that nationality and the vast murders of that nationality's anscestors for the coming generations to simply forget and let bygones be bygones. Especially when we are amidst denialists who go to extremes in paying mega dollars to government officials to erase such a huge and a horrendous crime against humanity.

Anoush

[arabaliozian]

Re: notes / comments

Sunday, July 15, 2007
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PAPER TIGERS
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Writers tend to take themselves seriously; and the more mediocre they are the more seriously they take themselves. It follows, if you tell a hopeless mediocrity he is not another Shakespeare, you are liable to make an enemy for life.
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It may matter to writers what they write but to the vast majority who read him or to the millions who don’t, it makes absolutely no difference. Something similar could be said about our controversies. Since the majority is silent, each side may think it is on his side when in fact the world is too busy with far more important matters to give a damn one way or the other.
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Of the one million Armenians in America (Canada and the U.S. combined) my guess is only less than 1% read our weeklies and most of the 1% read only to see their names in the paper. Now then, go ahead and take yourself seriously.
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When friends ask me if I am working on a new project, I tell them I have given up writing. I don’t consider writing for the Internet writing. But if it is writing, it is more like writing on water.
#

[arabaliozian]

Re: notes / comments

Ara

Let me expand a bit your thoughts on the above third paragraph the way I understand it and add some of my own.

Extreme nationalists who are precoccupied by trying to solve our problems who go to extreme lengths for them by Btw; creating new parties, fighting against the existing parties in power, party leaders who draw masses to spew hate on an opposing party, fighting other opposing parties fiercely.

Then suddenly one day they are awakened to see that all or most of our major problems have vanished. Then at that particular point and time they simply wouldn't know what to do with themselves and their time. They will then be and feel in complete and huge emptiness and at a loss with themselves as there will be nothing more to fight about.

But isn't it part of life and living for a man to think, have and behold different and opposing idealisms with other men? Whether they are different ethics, mores, inner thoughts or simply seeing matters in a different perspective. Then at that particular moment isn't it the nature of men to fight for his thoughts and idealisms and to see them to win against an opposing one or a party? Then at that point in time a man will want to draw masses of people who practically think alike to win over the other. Especially when the opposing party would be a dangerous one for his nation or country, so he thinks.

Let me add that there is no man and no party that rules who will ever be fault free. Surely it is known that small men and small thoughts create small mistakes and but grand individuals or leaders will make huge mistakes; because it's inevitable. The greater the task, the bigger the mistake.

Now about Mr. Paul Tillich's writings. It's true that human psychologists stress for this to be; but it is in the human nature from time to time to think about the past. Though not dwelling but to learn from past mistakes.

When it comes to a nationality however; it would certainly be extremely unjust in a worse sense for that nationality and the vast murders of that nationality's anscestors for the coming generations to simply forget and let bygones be bygones. Especially when we are amidst denialists who go to extremes in paying mega dollars to government officials to erase such a huge and a horrendous crime against humanity.

Anoush

A great many things have been said about Armenia, Armenians, and the Armenian language, and we tend to remember and repeat only the favorable quotes. No one but Armenians take Lord Byron's words seriously.

The Scriptures also warn us not to look back lest we turn into pillars of salt.

If by looking back we learn from our blunders and thus become better people, i would be all for it. but if the case will be the opposite, then i will let you draw your own conclusions. / ara

[arabaliozian]

Re: notes / comments

Monday, July 16, 2007
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MAFIA-DEMOCRACIES
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Many great writers were misunderstood and neglected because they were ahead of their time. That’s not my problem. Nothing I say is difficult to understand, or original, or new. My ideas are not mine but the common currency of literature, including our own. They have been around for centuries, even millennia. My great liability is that I write about our problems and no one gives a damn about us, not even us. The only thing we seem to care about is Turks and their stonewalling and indifference – an indifference that we understand very well because we share it.
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In his most recent book, TO THE CASTLE AND BACK (New York, 2007), Vaclav Havel calls the present political and economic structures of former Soviet countries “Mafia-democracies.” Now, why I didn’t think of that? Mafia-democracies! That’s like saying the law of the jungle.
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[Anoush]

Re: notes / comments

A great many things have been said about Armenia, Armenians, and the Armenian language, and we tend to remember and repeat only the favorable quotes. No one but Armenians take Lord Byron's words seriously.

The Scriptures also warn us not to look back lest we turn into pillars of salt.

If by looking back we learn from our blunders and thus become better people, i would be all for it. but if the case will be the opposite, then i will let you draw your own conclusions. / ara

Let me put the question this way. If any great poet, writer, scientist or philosopher was to say great things about Great Britain, English people. Who do you think would be more inclined to speak about it in the future generations of the British people but the British people? So why shouldn't Armenians take Lord Byron's words seriously? We do, because we feel that it is true and because we feel proud. It's the human nature.

Yes, yes, I would be very happy that our nation would learn from our past blunders. But in the case of mass annihilation; it is only our right to reprimend the murderer and have Turkey recognize our Genocide and whatever just rights our people demand from them.

[arabaliozian]

Re: notes / comments

Tuesday, July 17, 2007
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AN ARMENIAN CREDO
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I believe in one God who may or may not be on my side.
I believe as a human being I can be wrong, and I have been wrong more than once.
I believe it is also conceivable that like most human beings I have been wrong more often than right.
I also believe as an Armenian it is my patriotic duty to do my utmost to learn from my mistakes. Whether I have been or shall be successful in this endeavor is not up to me to decide but up to more impartial and objective observers.
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[arabaliozian]

Re: notes / comments

Let me put the question this way. If any great poet, writer, scientist or philosopher was to say great things about Great Britain, English people. Who do you think would be more inclined to speak about it in the future generations of the British people but the British people? So why shouldn't Armenians take Lord Byron's words seriously? We do, because we feel that it is true and because we feel proud. It's the human nature.

Yes, yes, I would be very happy that our nation would learn from our past blunders. But in the case of mass annihilation; it is only our right to reprimend the murderer and have Turkey recognize our Genocide and whatever just rights our people demand from them.

illusions are cheap but they are also dangerous.
the Brits, unlike us, are beyond flattery and illusions because they have produced some of the greatest critics in the world who have exposed their shortcomings and continue to do so. we have produced some great critics too but very few armenians read them, and even fewer take them seriously enough. we prefer to believe and glorify our brown-nosers. / ara

[Anoush]

Re: notes / comments

illusions are cheap but they are also dangerous.
the Brits, unlike us, are beyond flattery and illusions because they have produced some of the greatest critics in the world who have exposed their shortcomings and continue to do so. we have produced some great critics too but very few armenians read them, and even fewer take them seriously enough. we prefer to believe and glorify our brown-nosers. / ara

Fine then tell us who are our serious, well balanced and positive critics that do count and they would be beneficial for us in the long run. I am willing to have an open mind and an open heart to hear it and learn it.

Anoush