as i see it - Pt. III

[Sasun]

OK, Sip jan, I know what you mean In fact I may have been in Domino-consciousness when I posted the last post (hey Domino, are you listening?)

And...

...that means he is not God

I certainly agree with this statement.

 

But seriously, isn't it controversial to say things like the above said, or say "I was playing the organ for God", and also say "if God exists then..." ?

[ara baliozian]

Sasus:

i use the word God as a point of reference.

in the same way that we use abstract words (beauty, truth, wisdom) ....

 

as for being misunderstood or misunderstanding:

Verdi once said or implied that to be in the public eye is to be misunderstood.

when it comes to beinbg misunderstood, i am the veteran of many battles..../ ara

[ara baliozian]

October 15, 2003

*******************************

We have had so much history rammed down our throats

that we haven't yet had a chance to digest it.

We are a nation suffering from chronic constipation.

*

A civilization in the making

is also a rejection of all previous civilizations.

The Greeks rejected the personality cult

and the apotheosis of death

on which the civilization of Egypt was based.

But the Greeks also rejected some of their ablest men

without whom Greek civilization would be an oxymoron.

Which amounts to saying:

there is an element of barbarism in all civilizations.

*

Perhaps the Good Lord in His infinite wisdom

gave us old age to remind us that

being physically desirable is not the sole aim in life.

*

In their infinite cunning and our unlimited gullibility,

our leaders call us smart before they exploit our credulity.

*

The unspoken platform of our leadership:

To do that which should be left undone

(to claim historic Armenia -- remember:

Columbus discovered America 500 years ago,

and the Turks conquered Armenia 600 years ago),

and to undo that which was done

(to unite the nation after the divide-and-rule tactics

of our former rulers and masters).

*

My country right or wrong and

myself right or wrong might as well be synonymous.

*

How to win an Armenian argument?

If you cannot dismiss your opponent's words as irrelevant,

question his integrity.

*

More often than not "I am right, you are wrong," means:

My self-interest or ego is more important than yours.

*

Until very recently, we, Armenians of the diaspora,

were not allowed to know the identity of our political leaders;

and now that we know them,

we understand why they preferred to remain anonymous.

*

An Armenian writer on his 50th birthday once told me:

"If i am ever asked what has been

my most important contribution to Armenian literature,

i will say, I have survived.

There are not too many Armenians writers

who could have made that boast."

*

Political platforms, advertisements, public relations:

they are all designed to promise more than they can deliver;

and whenever they can get away with it,

to promise everything and delivering nothing,

and sometimes even less than nothing:

like cigarette commercials that promise sex appeal

and deliver cancer; and closer to home:

our own revolutionaries at the turn of the cenbtury

who promised a free and independent homeland

and delivered massacre; or as the old proverb has it

"They went out for wool and came home shorn."

*

Our situation is unique?

Our problems are complex?

No, they are nothing of the kind

if they can be condensed in slogans,

expressed in cliches,

and analyzed by anonymous proverbs

[ara baliozian]

Sasus:

about kibitzers and critics:

anyone can be a kibitzer, as you yourself imply.

but mankind had to wait many, many years for a true critic of capitalism -- namely Marx. A kibitzer could not have written DAS KAPITAL.

[Sasun]

Sasus:

i use the word God as a point of reference.

in the same way that we use abstract words (beauty, truth, wisdom) ....

Well, that makes no sense to me personally and is controversial itself. Beauty, truth, etc are subjective to individuals but when we refer to such concepts we don't usually question their existence (unless we say so). Otherwise, why would we make such a reference? Most people when they refer to God, they do so either believing, disbelieving or doubting. You seem to be doubting, yet at times you refer as if you are a believer. Example: your last essay.

 

Sasus:

about kibitzers and critics:

anyone can be a kibitzer, as you yourself imply.

but mankind had to wait many, many years for a true critic of capitalism -- namely Marx. A kibitzer could not have written DAS KAPITAL.

 

Like I said above, everyone criticizes according to their intellectual capacity. It is about the critical attitude that I find useless. I give credit to Marx for his intellect, and no credit to an ordinary kibitzer for lack of intellect. I don't give any credit to anyone who is obsessed with criticizing and does nothing else. Obviously, Marx doesn't belong to this category, not to say that I appreciate him as much as you do. I give you credit for being a writer, translator and champion of Armenian culture, but no credit for changing things since you have not changed anything.

 

Thanks for taking the time / SasuN

[ara baliozian]

Oct. 17, 2003

******************************

MEMO TO OUR EDITORS

Burning books,

burning men,

Nazi concentration camps,

Soviet Gulags:

they all begin with censorship.

*

It is impossible to struggle against the certainty of ignorance

with the doubts of knowledge.

*

On the origin of the universe:

was it an accident?

was it by design?

was it designed to look like an accident?

*

What is the use of rising from the ashes

only to sink in the mire?

*

Since everyone wants wealth and power,

those who have both will support a religion

that says poverty and subversience are virtues

that will be rewarded in an afterlife.

Likewise, what our revolutionaries support today

is quintessentially unrevolutionary

(namely, obedience to authority):

that's because regardless of what they preach and promote,

all power structures share

the same unspoken values and principles.

*

Armenians and their perennial demands

of Genocide recognition and territorial claims

are like sheep preaching vegetarianism

in a world run by wolves.

*

"The problem with us is that we have no role models,"

one of our pundits once informed me.

I would amend that statement to:

"Having rejected all role models,

we are left with none."

*

If they have donkeys as leaders,

the smartest people on earth

will be defeated by the dumbest.

*

The greatest obstacle to progress

is the sensible man who says:

"You cannot change human nature.

Nobody listens. Nobody gives a damn.

You are wasting your time."

*

So what if i am not a popular writer

and through my writings

i have made more enemies than friends?

The biography of the greatest philosopher

will have fewer readers today

than the autobiography of a common harlot.

And with some audiences,

Barabbas will be more popular than Jesus.

*

If Judas had written his memoirs,

i suspect it would have been a perennial best-seller in Armenia.

*

To believe means to believe in one thing

and to reject a thousand other belief systems.

The believer is the true skeptic.

*

If you review the history of faith

you may notice that people have believed in all kinds of nonsense.

*

"We don't need critics,"

is the first half of a sentence, the other half being:

"We can go to the devil on our own."

*

Sacred cows make delicious shish kebab.

*

On more than one occasion I have been criticized as a critic on the grounds that criticism is a waste of time.

*

What is the difference between kibitzers and critics? A kibitizer's central concern is one-upmanship. A critic's central concern is exposing contradictions and charlatans.

*

Armenians in the Hemshin region on the Black Sea coast within the Ottoman Empire converted to Islam and survived the massacres. Armenian intellectuals of the Soviet era converted to atheism and were slaughtered in successive purges.

What is the difference between religion and ideology? Or, more specifically, between Islam and Communism?

The first speaks in the name of a "merciful and compassionate Allah," the second in the name of the brotherhood of all men. But both are used by power-hungry men as instruments of deception and when power speaks, God and ideals are silenced, and power has only one message: "Challenge me and you die!"

*

Only when your situation is hopeless will an Armenian wish you good luck.

*

The vulgar man knows that the most effective argument against good sense is hooliganism.

*

The Romans knew that the most fail-safe method to be masters of a tribal environment was to support one tribe against another and let them handle the rough stuff. Countless defeats, catastrophes and tragedies have not yet taught us the value of presenting a united front to the enemy. What are the chances that some day in the next two millennia our leadership will see the light?

*

A prayer: "If I am ever reincarnated as an Armenian, please God bless me with a thick skin even if it means being reincarnated as a crocodile."

*

Ever since one of our most celebrated writers of the Diaspora wrote a book about a moneyed nonentity in exchange of thirty silver pieces, I have trouble explaining even to my friends that I'd rather translate a writer I respect for nothing than a mediocrity for money.

*

American proverb: "The more arguments you win, the less friends you will have." Likewise, the more prejudices you expose….

*

One should not speak of music with a tone-deaf person, or of art with a blind man, or of feet with a cripple, or of honesty with an Armenian.

*

Separate an Armenian from Armenians and you may have a decent Frenchman, a charming Italian, a dashing Spaniard, even a civilized Turk; but leave him among Armenians and he will grow horns, hooves and the tail of a scorpion.

*

[ara baliozian]

Sasun:

i do hope i have answered some of your questions in my last (today's) collection of notes/comments.

you have been a source of inspiration.

for which many thanks!

[ara baliozian]

Sasun:

God is not an objective word.

man created God in his own image.

It was Pascal i think who said

the God of triangles will have three corners.

my use of the word God as a reference point is not of my own invention.

Others have done so before me.

perhaps nothing i say is original.

we are all in the recycling business.

some of us recycle Socrates,

others Stalin..........

[Sasun]

Sasun:

i do hope i have answered some of your questions in my last (today's) collection of notes/comments.

you have been a source of inspiration.

for which many thanks!

Ara, thank you for your attention I am very glad that you found something inspiring in my comments. I think inspiration is essential in every thing we do that matters. You may or may not be criticized, but please keep doing as you find right. I may comment on, question or criticize your thoughts at times. If you find it interesting and have time to answer that will be fine. But in case you don't, it will be fine too

 

Best regards / S.

[Sasun]

God created man in His own image, and man created God in his own multitude of images. This only shows the inherent inseparableness and ultimate unity of man and God.

[ara baliozian]

Saturday, October 18, 2003

*********************************

If kings can be beheaded, czars executed, dictators driven to suicide or hanged, and sultans forced into abdication, can anyone in a leadership position feel invulnerable?

*

If the written word is powerless to change things, why is it that Talaat and Stalin slaughtered our intellectual class? My guess is, they knew something our philistines do not: namely,

Everything begins and ends in the convolutions of the brain.

*

To those who say the deeds of our bosses, bishops and benefactors are more important than the words of our writers because actions speak louder than words, I ask: Who has been more influential in the history of mankind: Buddha, Socrates, and Jesus or Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan and Napoleon?

*

Our own history is lousy with men of action (emperors, kings, princes and nakharars): what have they done except to tribalize, divide, and demoralize the nation, and preside over its disintegration and death of a thousand cuts? And more to the point: What have our present-day bosses, bishops and benefactors learned from them except to repeat their blunders?

*

To be a millionaire means to live with the constant suspicion that your friends love your money more than they love you, and even those who really love you may prefer you dead than alive. This much said, however, I am not foolish enough to believe that the poor are better off, and if I had a choice I'd rather be a friendless millionaire than a popular pauper.

*

To all those who at one time or another have insulted or attempted to silence me, I say: I don't know who you are and I don't care to know.

But I do know this much: where you come from, writers were betrayed to the enemy and slaughtered like sheep. You may now choose on whose side you prefer to be.

*

It is true, not being a miracle worker I cannot change things but I can always live with the hope that some day I may succeed being the source of insomnia to at least one of our charlatans even if the insomnia lasts a fraction of a second.

*

Words have different meanings to different people. Consider the word patriotism as a case in point. To some it is a noble sentiment; to me it is the source of all wars and massacres; and to say my patriotism is good but my enemy's patriotism is bad is an oxymoron worthy of a moron.

*

I write about what I think and feel based on what I have seen and experienced. If your thoughts run in a different direction it may be because you base them on your own experiences which are different from mine. I don't see why I should base my thoughts on your experiences and vice versa. Finally, I write the way I write because no one is paying me to lie.

*

On the one hand you have those who say literature is irrelevant and critics useless, and on the other you have readers who are so outraged by what you write that they would gladly dance on your grave.

*

I harbor a special kind of contempt towards individuals who think just because they are members of a party or organization or gang, they are in a position to bully with impunity solitary outsiders.

[ara baliozian]

about god and man:

i draw the opposite conclusion....

once upon a time the unknown and god were one and the same.

he was both the source of good as well as evil.

to this day,

in the Lord's Prayer, we say:

"Do no lead us into temptation. "

thus identifying God with the devil.

 

also there are two popular sayings:

God is in the detail.

and

The Devil is in the detail....

 

The two most fascinating books on the subject that i have read are:

Shaw's ANDROCLES AND THE LION (not the play but the long book-length preface), and Bertranrd Russell's WHY I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN. / ara

[Sip]

Burning books,

burning men,

Nazi concentration camps,

Soviet Gulags:

they all begin with censorship.

But won't chaos ensue

if the hooliagans aren't ignored?

 

Doesn't ignoring hooligans

require some internal censorship?

 

If that internal censorship mechanism is not functioning ...

Then what?

[ara baliozian]

the book burners ARE the real hooligans.

[Sip]

the book burners ARE the real hooligans.

Ok I'll take this a step further ...

 

There are books with internal time bombs that can blow up entire libraries. Sometimes a book burning hooligan is actually saving the library

 

All I can say is, I just wish people had 1/2 the self control and self restraint as you have!!!!

[nairi]

Sip, how about the book burning hooligans are the ones who prevent people from speaking their mind, through for instance a coup d'état, or (inhumane) disturbance of a democratic, free society?

 

Agreed on the self-control! We, I, could definitely learn a lot from that!

[Sip]

Sip, how about the book burning hooligans are the ones who prevent people from speaking their mind ...

Some of them function under the title of "moderator" A book burning hooligan is a book burning hooligan no matter how you slice it. The only difference is which book you burn.

 

My only point is just because a bomb is packaged in the form of a book doesn't make it a book! But at the end who's to say ... there were those who considered the spherical earth theory to be a "bomb"

[Arpa]

Some books should be burned.

During the dark and cold years of 1988-94 there wre those who were sending thousands of bibles to Yerevan. Some friends were angry that that would have been the last thing those poor souls needed. I, on the other hand was very enthusiastic about it if only they would include a users' manual in the package that instructed them how to use the books as fuel in their stoves. It would have kept them warm for many years.

[nairi]

Some of them function under the title of "moderator" 

I think they all do Anyone in an authoritarian position uses and abuses power to his or her advantage with the excuse that it is for the good of the people, and if you don't like it here, then you are free (or not so free) to leave.

 

As for burning books, Hitler's Mein Kampf is still banned in Holland, except in very small circles where it is studied at an academic level. I'm not sure what to make of this...

[Sasun]

Some books should be burned.

During the dark and cold years of 1988-94 there wre those who were sending thousands of bibles to Yerevan. Some friends were angry that that would have been the last thing those poor souls needed. I, on the other hand was very enthusiastic about it if only they would include a users' manual in the package that instructed them how to use the books as fuel in their stoves. It would have kept them warm for many years.

I am sure you would burn books even if it was a hot summer. Now I understand why your avatar is holding fire...

Edited October 19, 2003 by Sasun

[nairi]

Sasun, I think it's a paint brush

 

The question for me is whether we should tolerate everything that is written (for instance on this forum) or not. If not, where and when should we apply censorship?

 

Ara jan, your opinion on this would be highly valuable, IMO. As moderators and administrators, in a leadership position, we ARE vulnerable and could/should use all the guidance we can get. Unless anarchy is the only option out...

[Sasun]

Sasun, I think it's a paint brush

Oh, OK. But still...

[Sasun]

about god and man:

i draw the opposite conclusion....

once upon a time the unknown and god were one and the same.

he was both the source of good as well as evil.

to this day,

in the Lord's Prayer, we say:

"Do no lead us into temptation. "

thus identifying God with the devil.

 

also there are two popular sayings:

God is in the detail.

and

The Devil is in the detail....

 

The two most fascinating books on the subject that i have read are:

Shaw's ANDROCLES AND THE LION (not the play but the long book-length  preface), and Bertranrd Russell's WHY I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN. / ara

Ara, is there any certain way to give a universal definition of what is good and what is evil? Something may seem very good but turn out to be evil, and vice versa. Our knowledge is too limited to know all.

About the Lord's Prayer, if you look at it in its entirety you can't identify God with devil. That particular line means to me that God is omnipotent, He can lead to temptation, He can also protect us from temptation. But in my understanding, the significance of this line is that we pray for God's protection from evil (where evil is the lack of such protection).

 

To those who say the deeds of our bosses, bishops and benefactors are more important than the words of our writers because actions speak louder than words, I ask: Who has been more influential in the history of mankind: Buddha, Socrates, and Jesus or Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan and Napoleon?

 

I absolutely agree: we should learn from the words that have been influential.

Edited October 19, 2003 by Sasun

[ara baliozian]

Monday, October 20, 2003

****************************

To those of my readers who are outraged by what I write, I say: You, my friend, have a serious problem. But you are in luck because I have its solution: Stop reading me.

*

Bullies may be a tiny minority but they have prospered throughout history and continue to do so today because "Among ten men nine are sure to be women" (Turkish proverb), and (to paraphrase FDR), if man has nothing to fear, he will fear fear itself.

*

Marx saw more clearly than anyone else the evils of capitalism but was completely blind to the potential evils in communism. We Armenians knew all about the Turks, but we were completely ignorant of the West and we were thus easily taken in by its double talk. Which may suggest that nothing can be as dangerous as arrogance based on knowledge; and since there is no such thing as unlimited knowledge, all knowledge is bound to be limited and thefore, "little knowledge."

*

In our environment the fools speak, shout, sing, speechify and sermonize and the wise are silent.

*

I would like to meet an Armenian who is not intoxicated on himself or some obsolete ideology.

*

The only time what you say offends no one is when you say nothing.

*

The aim of education is not to deceive but to expose deceivers. Pity the nation whose educators are dupes.

*

Some people are interested in politics the way a fox is interested in hens.

*

Many years ago two prominent Armenians told me: "Scratch an Armenian and find a Turk." I have been told many other things but wiser men than myself but I have forgotten most of them. I remember this one because every day I see proofs of it.

*

It took us 600 years to be ottomanized. I am beginning to suspect it may take us 6000 years to be re-armenianized.

*

To some, life is an open road, to others a dead-end, to still others a vicious circle.

*

There is no such thing as an innocent dupe. Charlatanism prospers because of the active support of dupes.

*

What kinds of people get repeatedly massacred? The kind who are naïve enough to believe they can go on provoking a mad dog or a wounded tiger with impunity.

[ara baliozian]

Sasun, I think it's a paint brush

 

The question for me is whether we should tolerate everything that is written (for instance on this forum) or not. If not, where and when should we apply censorship?

 

Ara jan, your opinion on this would be highly valuable, IMO. As moderators and administrators, in a leadership position, we ARE vulnerable and could/should use all the guidance we can get. Unless anarchy is the only option out...

Nairi:

the purpose of a forum is to exchange views and to share experiences. anyone who resorts to insults should be considered outside this loop and expelled. that is not censorship but obeying the demands of civility; because without civility you have anarchy and hooliganism.