What is the difference of Kanye West in Swan Lake, SOAD in the Republic Square and the so-called “first round” of the protest against the electricity price hike in Baghramyan Avenue? Many people, of course, will say that the first two are “cultural” events while the third is “political”. May be it is so merely in terms of “political sciences”. But I however see some parallels in the sense that in all three cases the main role-player was the youth which confirmed its right to be free and unconstrained, as well we the fact that our country’s capital, its streets and parks, as well as the entire country belongs right to him.
It seems to me that these positive trends failed to be developed in a way to make this kind of youth become a stable factor in our social life. People singing “Let it be” in Baghramyan Street at nights are replaced by young and not so young people with much more “stagnated” looks. The teenagers who feel themselves to be the masters are replaced by “political activists” who repeat the worn-out mottos of the elderly party members and thus becoming like their “young-RPA” peers “armed” with badges. The extremes join somewhere.
But the mentioned events, as well as “I am Against” and a number of other movements showed that we also have another youth, which at times emerge and then “hide”. Are they gathered somewhere, what books do they read, what music do they listening to (I assume it is “rock”), do they watch TV and do they read newspapers (I doubt) or are on the Internet all day long? And most importantly, why are they not always in the arena?
I really do not know the answers to these questions, but I connect Armenia’s future with this at times emerging it is, at times emerging youth. Not in the sense that these youth “will come to power”. The youth movement emerged in the West in the mid-1960s “did not come to power,” but it had a huge impact on the spiritual and why not, also the political life of the West. One of the ideologists of this movement was German philosopher Herbert Marcuse, who saw the entire savagery of the Bolshevik regime, but was also criticizing the “hidden totalitarianism” of the Western society when a person becomes the slave to his consuming passions. Marcuse offered a “third way”: to give up the consuming approaches towards the nature and the people, and turn to the spiritual values.
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I understand that this offer is sounds “naive” and in terms of the space-time, perhaps is quite far away from Armenia. But in the context of the next generation, perhaps, it is worthy to think over these issues.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
Dear Editor,
It seems all protests in Armenia are “Against” something as opposite to be “For” something; mostly they are “reactive” instead of “pro-active”. The groups and protesters who may be “For” something don’t seem to have long-term, strategic plan for achieving whatever they are “For” but rather their approach looks haphazard, arbitrary, not well thought-out. This approach won’t get anyone anywhere.
One of the reasons we end up with the types of regime and government in Armenia is lack of viable opposition, lack of workable alternative to what the ruling group offers.