more

[Guest arabaliozian]

SHAHNOUR ON PATRIOTISMIn one of his letters to Krikor Keusseyan dated August 1, 1969 Shahan Shahnour quotes with approval a passage from Paul Claudel that reads: "There are some things that conserve their deep purity and holy simplicity only when they are taken for granted – cases in point: homeland and family. Which is what makes patriotic writers hateful. One perceives in them a total absence of taste and something that is profoundly offensive. If there is a domain wherein it is essential to abstain from all forms of rhetoric and swagger, this is it."*LOVE AND HATEWhat is it that motivates me: love or hate? Where does hatred of lies end and love of truth begin? Or, is it possible to love truth without hating those who besmirch it for their own selfish, vulgar and stupid reasons?*WORDS OF WISDOMEdward Gibbon: "I never make the mistake of arguing with people for whose opinions I have no respect." O! how I wish I could say the same.SHAHNOUR AND THE ARFWhen a prominent member of the ARF (Dr. Papken Papazian) visits Shahnour in France and tells him: "You may not love us but we love you. Our youth is proud of you."Shahnour muses: "And how do they express their love and respect? By hurling lies and insults at me." Later, when he reads in one of Papazian’s books something to the effect that the ARF leadership has been infallible, Shahnour comments: "Is it possible that he doesn't know man is fallible, especially in times of crisis, and that we all make mistakes, regardless of our position in life, including the Pope of Rome who, very much like the ARF, represents God on earth? It is true that Armenians have produced one infallible activist who may even be said to have been a superman. His name: Comrade Panchounie!"*A SLOGANAn unspoken Armenian slogan: "The only good critic is a silent critic."*WORDS OF WISDOMMohammedan proverb: "If you hear that a mountain has moved, believe it; but if you hear that a man has changed his character, believe it not."*OUR SITUATIONWhether we like it or not, we are all in the same boat and the boat is sinking; and it is sinking not because it is not seaworthy or the waves are too high but because the captain is down below drilling holes.Wednesday, August 14, 2002*********************************Our churches and schools are dependent on the generosity of our benefactors, our literature on the charity of swine.*As for our political parties: like all political parties, they prefer propaganda and indoctrination to literature and education.*Educational institutions that are not open to new ideas become concentration camps for the systematic extermination of literature.*The more schools and churches we build, the fewer writers we produce. It is no exaggeration to say that for every 100 priests and schoolteachers we have today, we have only half a writer and he happens to be a spineless opportunist.*A man’s past speaks louder than his promises. The same applies to institutions.*What I was brought up to think and believe as a child is in direct contradiction with what I think and believe today.*Once upon a time I was surrounded by deceivers, I am now surrounded by dupes.*To be loved for the wrong reasons is almost to be hated.