Alright, after my return to LA, I have had some time to review the recent logs posted by my fellow loggers.. WOW! A lot has been going on! So naturally, I will put my 2 cents (or drams) in..... (sorry if I repeat stuff people have already said...)
If you ask me why there is such apathy among a majority of Armenian in regards to Armenia.... I will have ONE VERY SIMPLE ANSWER! My answer comes from working with young Armenians, young diasporan Armenians, also having numerous discussions with elders. The ONE simple answer is..... "lack of education". Yes, education. I don't just mean learning things in a classroom kind of education, but the kind of knowledge you acquire by learning about different things. By reading, by researching, by looking at pictures, watching movies, etc. To me, it is ENTIRELY incomrehensible for an Armenian to "not care" if they are fully aware or knowledgable about the situation. I'll start with a very simple example... As a youth group leader, I've talked about the Genocide maybe 50 times....to the same kids (plus or minus a few)... and every time, I've received the same response/feedback - they understand it, and know that it's not over. But last week we tried something NEW. We showed them a portion of a play in which Siamanto's "Kheghtamahuh" was being recited and acted out. Although we had to watch it twice for them to get a general idea....when I stopped the video, only 1 or 2 of the kids actually knew what it was about. After explaining the story of Siamanto's poem, the children's faces changed entirely. The 11 year old boys who are ALWAYS more concerned about what their shoe laces are doing, or doing something to the hair of the person in front of them....they had such, well I don't even know how to describe it. It's as though they were enlightened and touched. And they started asking questions, and worrying about the fate of the other people.... the point being = they finally got it!
It's my opinion, that if Armenians are HONESTLY informed and like Ara said...they DO read Groong on a daily basis, maybe even subscribe to AIM Magazine, or receive a weekly Armenian newspaper (of course to read more than just the Calendars section)... then it would be VERY difficult to be so apathetic. (of course there would be exceptions....cause cold-hearted people DO exist in this world). I don't know, maybe this is a naieve opinion or way of thinking....but my experience has brought me to this conclusion. Anytime I have met an Armenian who is not too involved in being Armenian, they look at me as if they envy me for my "Armenian" lifestyle. And I always think...but WHY? I just do what I FEEL.... I WANTTTTT to know Armenian and speak it and read it and learn about Armenian issues and do something about them...etc.... I don't do it because someone made me feel guilty (by saying that I should donate $$ cause I can afford to eat the Cheesecake Factory while someone in Armenia can't afford bread for the day). NO! The "guilt method" will only go so far. You have to actually WANTTTTTTTT to do something about it. It's as simple as that. And in my opinion, the only time someone will have that initiative is when they are informed of the situation....in a way that they reach a COMPLETE understanding. When that happens, action is inevitable!
Well that's my opinion.... and as Ara said.... corruption, bribery, lying, stealing, etc ---- ahhhhhhhh minor details! ZERO TOLERANCE is my motto too.
TEBI YERGIR! ....tsuh! :)
If you ask me why there is such apathy among a majority of Armenian in regards to Armenia.... I will have ONE VERY SIMPLE ANSWER! My answer comes from working with young Armenians, young diasporan Armenians, also having numerous discussions with elders. The ONE simple answer is..... "lack of education". Yes, education. I don't just mean learning things in a classroom kind of education, but the kind of knowledge you acquire by learning about different things. By reading, by researching, by looking at pictures, watching movies, etc. To me, it is ENTIRELY incomrehensible for an Armenian to "not care" if they are fully aware or knowledgable about the situation. I'll start with a very simple example... As a youth group leader, I've talked about the Genocide maybe 50 times....to the same kids (plus or minus a few)... and every time, I've received the same response/feedback - they understand it, and know that it's not over. But last week we tried something NEW. We showed them a portion of a play in which Siamanto's "Kheghtamahuh" was being recited and acted out. Although we had to watch it twice for them to get a general idea....when I stopped the video, only 1 or 2 of the kids actually knew what it was about. After explaining the story of Siamanto's poem, the children's faces changed entirely. The 11 year old boys who are ALWAYS more concerned about what their shoe laces are doing, or doing something to the hair of the person in front of them....they had such, well I don't even know how to describe it. It's as though they were enlightened and touched. And they started asking questions, and worrying about the fate of the other people.... the point being = they finally got it!
It's my opinion, that if Armenians are HONESTLY informed and like Ara said...they DO read Groong on a daily basis, maybe even subscribe to AIM Magazine, or receive a weekly Armenian newspaper (of course to read more than just the Calendars section)... then it would be VERY difficult to be so apathetic. (of course there would be exceptions....cause cold-hearted people DO exist in this world). I don't know, maybe this is a naieve opinion or way of thinking....but my experience has brought me to this conclusion. Anytime I have met an Armenian who is not too involved in being Armenian, they look at me as if they envy me for my "Armenian" lifestyle. And I always think...but WHY? I just do what I FEEL.... I WANTTTTT to know Armenian and speak it and read it and learn about Armenian issues and do something about them...etc.... I don't do it because someone made me feel guilty (by saying that I should donate $$ cause I can afford to eat the Cheesecake Factory while someone in Armenia can't afford bread for the day). NO! The "guilt method" will only go so far. You have to actually WANTTTTTTTT to do something about it. It's as simple as that. And in my opinion, the only time someone will have that initiative is when they are informed of the situation....in a way that they reach a COMPLETE understanding. When that happens, action is inevitable!
Well that's my opinion.... and as Ara said.... corruption, bribery, lying, stealing, etc ---- ahhhhhhhh minor details! ZERO TOLERANCE is my motto too.
TEBI YERGIR! ....tsuh! :)
posted by shooosh at 4:55 AM
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