“Long live the proud Armenians who took away the police officer’s hat off his head.” I read these lines somewhere on the days of “Baghramyan”. Indeed, it is a brave action, it can be said, a heroism. Almost something like defending the country’s borders.
Our notion about courage has been changed in the last two decades. Let’s say, writing the name of the president of Armenia or any other person in lower case is considered the highest manifestation of civic courage. The same for distorting Putin’s last name. It is both harmless and seems like creating an impression that with your feeble forces you have come out against the entire empire. Almost the Academician Sakharov. But note that Andrei Sakharov was thinking about progress, peaceful coexistence and intellectual freedom with quite restrained and respectful expressions, aiming to improve not only the country, whose military capacity he contributed greatly, but the whole world. That is why he was deprived of the soft life of the Soviet academician, at the same time leaving a huge impact on the future history of the Soviet Union and the world.
What do nowadays “heroes” improve, let’s say, by throwing away the police officer’s hat? The police? But as far as I have noticed, no tectonic changes took place in the police activities. If, let’s say, you call someone a “fool”, have you ever seen anyone qualified in such a word saying, “Yes, you are absolutely right, I am fool, I am grateful for prompting me, I will try being wise like you in the future.” Instead, if the word “fool” (“ignorant”, “bandit”, “dissolute”) is used to address any famous person, then it is very likely that you will get several dozens of like and “Oh, glory to your courage, a brave son of Armenia” type of comments.
25 years, I think, is enough time for the public to become saturated with this kind of “heroic deeds”, to know the price of those who “tell the truth” and evaluate the words and the deeds of those who generate positive stimuli, which, probably, does not have a “nation saving” or “world saving” importance, but is aimed at helping specific people and other living creatures and caring for them.
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The “heroes”, of course, “suffer from nation’s sorrows” and during this suffering, they become angry and frustrated. Opposing to be kind to this fury, it seems to me, requires courage.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
