The “press secretaries vs. journalists” debate is not the first and not the last one burst on the internet. I have a high respect towards both parties and I think both have their arguments. Nevertheless, being a press secretary of “very old times”, I will let myself hint my colleagues a little bit: “you write articles against me, my boss, the ministry and by that reason, I use punishments against you” approach is wrong, it seems to me. The state servant should stay aside of such emotions and serve to all beneficiaries, regardless of their political views and the attitude of theirs towards the given ministry and its leader.
What right do I have to do all that? Have I not made mistakes during my state service and afterwards? Assuredly I have erred for numeral times and perhaps I have made more serious mistakes than my young colleagues. To say I never burst and I always give an adequate response to the stings or, moreover, to the swearings addressed to me, unfortunately, I cannot. None of us is perfect. Although I have found the way lately. Forasmuch as those attacks on person are mainly on Facebook, there is a technical opportunity to escape them. Let us presume that someone tags me in the bottom of his post for me to read also the criticizing comments beneath. It is very easy to untag from that post by clicking on “remove tag” and for all other cases to click on “turn off notifications”, and that is it – let the ones making advantage of picking on you write anything they want. (Let me answer the predictable reaction implying – “You do not want to read the criticizing comments about you?” by saying that I have experience enough to differentiate the “criticizing comments” from personal insults.) But let me repeat, to reach this state one needs years and now let me repeat once again if I have given a sharp response to any sting, I apologize and, of course, I forgive with all my heart the ones insulting me.
However, my case is a little bit different: I am not a state servant for already 23 years – how I respond, do I read or not – it is my personal business, eventually. Another question would be if I represented a state ministry which operated at the expense of taxpayers and to which we – the taxpayers have authorized to have this or that function. Neither that ministry is a Temple of God, neither the leaders of it are endowed with some divine graces and nor the spokespersons of those leaders are the herald messengers of the latest truths. All the employees of state ministries are our fellow citizens who temporarily conduct the obligations determined by us, the taxpayers.
To get insulted, to apply punishments, moreover, to revenge… the obligations of the official do not constitute all this.
ARAM ABRAHAMYAN
