Public sentiments are like a pendulum, the same figure (for instance, Levon Ter-Petrosyan) over 25 years may deserve incensing, then cursing, and then incensing again and so on. This is a normal thing during instability although I personally think that we should not be too hot or too cold to separate figures, it is better to maintain a “house lukewarm temperature.” Otherwise, at least, the flu is ensured.
With regard to the ideas and principles, on the contrary, it is desirable to display certain “stable warm” attitude. But here too, the social pendulum varies. For instance, what people believed in late 80ies, what we achieved in the first half of the 90ies, now it is viewed in strictly negative light. What Movement? What war? A deception. “Cold and dark years”. Period. What freedom? What market relations? “Things were good during the communist times.” Andrei Sakharov was a scoundrel, an American spy, Dzerzhinsky and Beria were brilliant statesmen. Gaddafi was taking a good care of his people, people were fed up. I am sure that, sooner or later, the pendulum will go back and it will “become clear” that the in the 90s, Armenia was ruled by “heavenly angels”, that nothing good has happened during the Communists times and Gaddafi was worthy to be brutally murdered.
Due to this excessively big pace of the pendulum, the “amplitude”, the society is deprived of certain “lighthouses” and was “sailing” in the dark. When there are no absolute values, when everything is changing once in every 15-20 years, it is possible to steal electricity (which most of the population of Soviet Armenia was engaged when one kilowatt cost 2 kopeks), to forge elections, to give and take bribes, demolish historic buildings and so on.
So, what should be done when everything is changing so fast? Are there any things that remain unchanged? I think, there are. First of all, it seems to me that we must give up cannibalism, not to glorify obvious executioners, not to name the streets by their names, not to erect statues, as well as deny tortures even if they are directed against Gaddafi. It seems that everybody must agree to this. Secondly, many people may argue here: Things in Armenia cannot be “like it was in the Soviet Union” (a totalitarian country with “iron curtain”), “like it was in Libya” (an Arab country with huge oil reserves), “like it was in Singapore” (the best display of traditional Chinese psychology and culture).
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Things in Armenia can only be … like in Armenia. I am confident that the model should be the progressive European countries with market relations and democracy. If the pendulum of our imagination moves within this range, people would have certain orientated “nodes.” So far, they are missing.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
