Over these years I have heard from many political and non-political figures, “we are strong, we are powerful,” “the government is strong”, “the opposition is powerful” and so on. First, even if these allegations were consistent with reality, then there is not much here to brag about. Powerful should be the state, the system, which, on the one hand, makes people fulfil the requirements of the law, and on the other hand, is able to create conditions for displaying the creative potential of the citizens. While the government’s “power”, which allows to get unpunished rich by breaking the laws, or the opposition’s “strength”, which enables gathering in the Liberty Square people who are dissatisfied with life and “faultfinding” the government authorities end in itself, to be honest, does not impress me.
But, in fact, no one in Armenia is politically powerful. I perceive this “powerfulness” in another way. Strong is the one who has the unique support of the society. Saying “unique”, I mean that this support a/ is not purchased with money, b/ is not based on power and administration leverages, c/ is not based on the cult of personality, d/ is not born by the “brainwashing”, e/ is not anchored on negative expectations, “Let it be anyone but not Poghos.” Because money can be distributed today but not tomorrow, the generals may betray, the idol today is a hero, but tomorrow – an anti-hero, propaganda nowadays “brain-washes” in one way, tomorrow – in another way, being governed by Poghos with dissatisfaction and not having positive idea leads to exactly the same dissatisfaction from Poghos. If we look at the things from this viewpoint, then presently, no political entity in our country is powerful.
The man can be strong not by money or bayonets, but only by the idea, beliefs and principles, in other words, by the things that no one no way would be able to steal from his or threaten to steal. In this sense, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel, Martin Luther King were strong. In their first years in power, Levon Ter-Petrosian and Boris Yeltsin were also strong, I know that many of you do not like these figures, but I think they had both clear visions of the future and unreserved trust-based support to these ideas. It’s another question of how they used this “capital”.
But one can be strong without sitting on the throne and guiding the masses. One can be strong both in the castle and the hut, and especially in the monk’s hermitage. To be strong in the most democratic country and in the concentration camp. Everything depends on the self-consciousness.
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ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
