One of my friends suggested calling the Diaspora a “disappointing site”, probably meaning that the Armenians living abroad often talk and write about their disappointments by presenting them as a reason for emigrating.
Many people in Armenia, when dealing with illegal acts and arbitrariness, or perhaps thinking that they have not been treated with fairness, say, “I am disappointed and I will leave this country.”
The feeling, which, judging by the word-formation consists of “admiration” and then “sober up,” to tell the truth, is not familiar to me, neither by personal nor public level. If I admire, let’s say, Beethoven’s music, but then I learn that he allowed vile acts (like we, all mortals), then whether I need to be disappointed with this genius music.
We should not wait for a person, including the genius, constantly display a flawless behavior, high moral features and heroic abstinence, and then when they are not displayed, be disappointed. If I had elaborated a plan in my teenager years, let’s say, to become a Nobel Prize winner, and these plans have not been implemented, then I was absolutely not disappointed because of it, but thought that I did not have enough potential to implement these plans. And, in general, if something is not to my liking, it’s still not a reason to be disappointed.
The same is true when people say, “I’m disappointed with this country.” Usually it means that the person was expecting some tangible or perhaps spiritual goods “from this country”, and since he has not received them, he gets disappointed. And perhaps, we need to think sometimes about what we are giving to “this country”, our relatives, our friends, our company rather than demand something from them, and in case of not receiving them, get disappointed.
The next stage of being disappointed “from this country” is becoming offended, angry and intimidating by emigration. If you’re going, then go, God bless you. Then, why do you intimidate? Do you mean that you would not go if everything were to your liking? And what have you done to be to your liking? Did you do something, and your potential was not enough? Then, do not blame others, do not intimidate and do not blackmail with your migration. Often, it is reacted as follows, if you were treated like this (and it follows by listing of terrible things), you would also be migrated. My answer to it is short, never.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
