Fundamental difference between the West and “East”
If you write something about Putin and I forget to add the epithet “Great” to it and do not mention that he “had raised Russia from knees with his iron will,” “has sent a challenge to immoral West”, etc., there will always be a group of Putin-devotees whose members attack you, accusing you of the “world imperialism” or worse, being a Turkish agent. If you write a critical word about Obama or Cameron who, of course, are not any good than Putin and because of wrong politics of these countries, particularly, millions of people in the Middle East suffer, no one will attack you; it was a view and you wrote it. There are no “Obama-devotees” or “Cameron-devotees” in the world. Putin-devotee, as many as you want. On another occasion, British writer Rudyard Kipling noted, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.
The same difference with another example. What is the difference between the Republican Party, the PAP and the ANC, on the one hand, and “Heritage”, “Free Democrats” political party and the current PANM, on the other side? Approximately with the same things. In the first case, there is an irrepressible cult of the leader, in the second case, there is not. In the first case, any critical word addressed to the political party and the team is perceived as “an order by the opponent”, as unsubstantiated speculation of the “regime” or the “opposition”. In the second case, it is perceived simply as a viewpoint, with which one can agree or argue. Many times I had the opportunity to write negative things about the “Heritage” (and there will still be), but I have never felt any poison and paranoiac suspicion by this political party. Indeed, it never occurred to the mind of Raffi Hovannisian to establish a “campaign team”, whom, if needed, he will “set a dog on” people whom he does not like or disagree with him. Is it a coincidence that the political parties of the first group support EaEC, whereas the second one is against it?
In my opinion, the watershed passes in here rather than by “chieftain-archangel,” “plundering-saint cross” and other made up dividing lines. Do you admit that both Gagik Harutyunyan’s and Vahan Babayan’s opinions may appear on the same page of the same newspaper, moreover, rendered by the same author? Do you admit that presenting these opinions says nothing about the author and the newspaper’s political line? Do you admit that, ultimately, neither the one’s nor the other’s opinions are truths of the last resort? Then, you adhere to European values.
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Some skepticism and reserved attitude to any information, statement and motto is typical for modern Western thinking. If citizens in Western Europe and the United States care about their leaders and other representatives of executive or legislative power, then definitely they do not take their words for granted and do not fall into religious ecstasy over it. There are people in the “East” who when hearing “Putin’s” name, a kind of sexual satisfaction begins with them. If it happens to Russian citizens, it is still understandable, ultimately it is up to them. But when the same feelings arise in Armenians, it is already strange.
Like still in the 16th century, one of the most talented representatives of the European mind Michele Montaigne wrote, “he cannot make a worm, and yet he will be making gods by dozens.” We can quote Montaigne, hopefully it is not a sign of being marginal. Otherwise, perhaps, soon time will come when it will be allowed to quote only Dugin and Prokhanov.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
