In Sight
Breaking the Culture of Discord
One often hears Armenians declare in a playful self-criticism “If you gather four Armenians in a room, you will hear at least five opinions” or “there are two Armenians on an island and they will build two churches.” On the positive side, it does speak to the resourcefulness of our people to have passionate views on important issues. It also expo
Or, subscribe now for unlimited access
By submitting your email address you agree for Hairenik Association, Inc. to send you communication by email.
Already a subscriber?Log in here
This story is FREE for you...
Create a free account to access this and four more articles, and get more sent to you with our e-newsletter.By submitting your email address you agree for Hairenik Association, Inc. to send you communication by email.
thank you, Stepan, for this very important and timely article. I appreciate your exceptional writing.
In an earlier article “The Unfortunate Tradeoff of Survival and Sovereignty”( 8/25/2021) Mr Piligian lamented the vassal state of mentality that is creeping into Armenia, of letting the Russians take over the defense of Armenia at the expense of loss of sovereignty. The present article describes another manifestation of the “vassal mentality”, namely chronic divisions and disunity. Every side of the fractious Armenian political culture claims to be upholding inviolable principles which cannot be compromised, while the Barbarian of Baku is at the gate!! This will require Armenian leaders and politicians to rise to the occasion by doing two difficult things A) The Pashinian government invites prominent opposition leaders to join his government i.e form a wartime cabinet to get through the current crisis, and B) President Sarkissian invites prominent leaders from Armenia and the Diaspora to form a Committee of National Salvation. The purpose of this committee is to marshal resources from across the world to strengthen Armenia( in the long run The Diaspora will also benefit by being drawn closer to Armenia). This will require Armenia to form a real partnership and power sharing with the Diaspora, which they have been reluctant to do thus far. Armenians claim to be an ancient civilization with culture and wisdom. Lets act the part !!
Another gem from Piligian. Timing is impeccable and analysis is masterly, rationalised from historical data.Thank you again. Being an Armenian in the diaspora was in some ways difficult as we were surrounded by a sizeable majority of non-Armenian and non-Christian host nations, with different cultural identity and vision. Yet, this difference also played an immense part in maintaining our identity and ensuring our survival. We knew who we were and what our difference was with others. This difference was highlighted by our elders and leaders, both political and religious. Both to guarantee the survival of the nation and also their own survival and interests. Our passion to survive and one day return to our free homeland, combined with our steadfast belief in our leaders was so great that it worked the magic and ensured the survival of the nation into the prosperous, educated and influential diaspora we enjoy today. In our effort to survive one essential element was unfortunately left out of our education, nationhood. This ommision has been evident since the 50s when it didn’t matter so much. Yet nowadays, due to changed circumstances, this has become crucial to our survical. We should not fall in the trap of labling ourselvest as “traitors” or “disunited”. We were not born that way, we were conditioned such. This problem is not insurmountable. All it takes is a re-education of the nation in “nationhood” and “nationalism”, which all other successful nations had to do. I feel sure that our passion and steadfastness will achieve this. What we need now is for our church and political leaders to preach this “new gospel” and more Piligians.
Spot on as usual Stepan.
In a recent visit to Armenia traveling through the countryside I asked our guide ‘what is this village known for”. His reply, “stubborn people”.
If we can’t come together on how much to charge for Kufta at the church bazaar and similar critical issues (?????), will we just wait for the next genocide to bind us together.