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Бакалавр Join Date: 03 2007 Location: canada
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January 28, 2010 ************************* AN HONEST ANSWER *************************************************** Asked how he had managed to survive the Stalinist purges when so many of his contemporaries had perished, Avedik Issahakian is said to have replied: “By applauding the murderers.” For more on this remarkable interview, see Antranig Chalabian, DRO (DRASTAMAT KANAYAN), page 269. * To be read by friendly readers: nothing unusual in that. To be read by hostiles: That’s where the money is, because it means being allowed the opportunity to introduce thoughts where none exist. * Even after you prove to him that his position is untenable, an Armenian will go on defending it to the bitter end, like a captain going down with the ship. That’s his way of asserting his manhood. I don’t write for readers whose central concern is their own manhood. That would be like writing about hallucinations. # January 29, 2010 ************************* FROM MY NOTEBOOKS **************************************** Even when we speak of others, we speak of ourselves. * Martin Luther (1483-1546): "I am more afraid of my own heart than of the Pope and his cardinals. I have within me the great Pope, Self." * If the Turks say what really matters is only their side of the story, we should not say the same about our side of the story. * The cruelest thing that has happened to Armenian writers after they were systematically and ruthlessly slaughtered by Talaat and Stalin was to become dependent on the charity of swine. * There are those who think membership in a party qualifies them as experts on Armenian history, culture, and human nature. * I believe in progress. I believe in human perfectibility. I believe in the ultimate triumph of reason. These are my three greatest illusions. * I wish God existed so that He would punish all those who dared to speak in His name. * To speak the truth privately but not publicly is to compound the felony of perjury with cowardice. * Gordon W. Allport: "Many studies have discovered a close link between prejudice and patriotism. Extreme bigots are almost always super-patriots." * It is only by confronting our dark side that we may see the light. * Commissars and mullahs are philistines, that is to say, killers who adopt an ideology or religion to legitimize their killer instincts. * It is the height of non sequitur to call Turks barbarians and to demand justice from them. * There will come a time when people will reject all religions and ideologies simply because imams and commissars believe in them. * Hannah Arendt (1906-1975), political philosopher: "Under conditions of tyranny it is far easier to act than to think." * Kingsley Amis (1922-1995), English novelist: "If you can't annoy somebody with what you write, I think there's little point in writing." # January 30, 2010 ************************* ONE-LINERS **************************************** A good diplomat can charm a cobra or it takes one to know one. * “Armenians of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your dividers.” What if this slogan succeeds only in producing our own Stalin? * My favorite genre: brevity. * To be self-righteous and to be wrong might as well be synonymous. * Arrogance allows a man to think he has all the answers even when none of them is right. * To be sure means to ignore one's doubts. * One way to define freedom of speech is by saying even the ablest statesman is not qualified to tell even the worst scribbler what to write. * The spirit of contradiction in some Armenians is so highly developed that if you were to agree with them they would disagree with you. * It is now time that we think of lamentation and hatred as experiments that failed and try another approach. # |
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