In this week’s issue, Weekly columnist Raffi Elliott offered a satirical piece poking some fun at the recent controversy over a proposed change to Armenia’s National Anthem, ‘Mer Hayrenik.’ The intent of his article, from what I gathered, was to point out that such issues pale in comparison to the many challenges facing the Armenian people. However, the controversy already initiated, it behooves us to at least explore the various aspects of the issue.
Those of us hailing from the United States can readily recall the 2016 controversy that ensued when Colin Kaepernick, then quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, chose to sit rather than stand during the Star-Spangled Banner prior to a pre-season football game. What began as an effort to draw attention to the continued discrimination of African-Americans degenerated into a brouhaha over the right of Kaepernick, or any citizen, to stand or sit during the playing of the anthem.
If Kaepernick had truly been interested solely in raising awareness of discrimination and initiating dialogue between the relevant decision-makers, he would have ended his protests once they shined the requisite spotlight on societal inequalities. Instead, Kaepernick made it an issue over his rights and, as such, left ample space for polarizing voices that drowned out any discussion of the injustices spawning the original protests.
Let us hope that the current controversy over the Armenian National Anthem does not suffer a similar fate.
We should first ask ourselves: what is the role of a national anthem, or any national symbol, for that matter?
Cynthia Miller-Idriss, in a 2016 New York Times opinion piece, stated it succinctly – “Like other national symbols — the American flag, the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty — the national anthem conveys meaning about the nation’s history, myths and ideals. These meanings evoke emotional attachment to the nation, crystallize identity and help people feel connected to something outside of their own immediate family and community.”
When Armenia regained independence in 1991, it seemed natural to incorporate the national symbols from the First Armenian Republic, the last independent state – the national anthem, coat of arms and flag. However, the incorporation of each was not without revisions, albeit minor in nature.
The debate initiated today, like those before it, seems founded more on parochial political grounds than substantive criticisms of the existing symbols. Is it a coincidence that such efforts have gained renewed energy the year following the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the First Republic?
Efforts at diminishing the significance of the First Republic are not new. There was a time, not too long ago, when the flag was not flown and the anthem not sung by a significant segment of the Diasporan community.
While we can acknowledge that the current symbols are not universal for the simple fact that much of our homeland (Western Armenia) remains occupied by an unrepentant, criminal government, still it is mystifying why they are not universally revered as representative of a time, place and leadership that insured the perpetuation of the Armenian nation through sacrifices of the entire Armenian people.
Can those desperate days be so easily forgotten and symbols of heroism against all odds tossed aside so readily and flippantly? I, for one, hope not.
George Aghjayan
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The example of Kaepernick’s protest is an ill-chosen and uncalled for stretch. There has to be a better example, especially in the context of discussing national symbols. The only way the brouhaha could have been prevented is if Kaepernick had never protested in the first place. It seems to me he has paid a pretty hefty already for living up to his principles. And, by the way, he was not protesting ‘discrimination’, he was protesting the almost daily killing of young African-Americans by police across this country.
I am sorry but I beg to differ. If Kaepernick cared about the issue he was supposedly protesting for, then he would have taken advantage of the heightened focus to actually have the discussion be about those issues. Instead he turned it into an issue of whether he (or anyone) can sit or kneel versus standing for the national anthem. I did not think that was the purpose of the protests, but maybe I was the one that was mistaken. There are plenty of parallels in an Armenian context. You do not have many such opportunities and he wasted a rare one for an important issue and continuing injustice.
Let’s hope that the misinterpretation of the efforts of Colin Kaepernick’s protest efforts against the police killing of African-Americans in the USA by kneeling during the playing of the American National Anthem by the Chairman of the ARF Central Committee of the Eastern Region does not reflect any of the new decisions made by the ARF World Congress held in January. The chairman’s approach reflects a regressive mindset on social/political injustice.
Where did you get the idea that police are systematically discriminating against black people? Don’t peddle the virtue signaling politics of the extreme left please. If he really cared he would’ve spoken up about the bloodbath and disproportionatly high rate of crime within the black community.
Our anthem and flag should be reconsidered. Our nation is surrounded by enemies and at risk of war. We should have an anthem and flag that is more motivating. Like Georgia, we should also consider redesigning our flag to something that honors our Christian background or past kingdoms. A flag that is a powerful symbol to rally people in a time of war. The problem with our current flag is the colors aren’t the same everywhere. Sometimes the 3rd color is orange and sometimes it’s golden. Even the red and blue are not specified by a specific hue. Other nations flags are very distinct about these details.
And the meaning of the colors are different depending on who you ask.
The Armenian government states that the red on our flag stands for 3 or 4 different things, while the blue is always the sky and the orange/apricot could mean our literature or courage or harvest.
A flag shouldn’t be vague. In our case it should be simple, symbolic and powerful. The same goes for our national anthem. I prefer something like ‘harach nahadag’ which has powerful lyrics and a melody that sounds like something a matching military band would play. This isnt an unimportant issue, especially in our case.