Education is a part of culture, and the opposite is true as well: the main activity of culture is to enlighten, to raise, and to educate people. If we read a book or listen to serious music, it makes our souls more sensitive and our minds more thoughtful. Many things that take place in our lives can be described as cultural- not just education, but written and spoken word, relationships at work and in the family, and treatment of the elderly and the disabled. Volunteering one day per week at the hospital is part of charitable culture, which is not advanced in Armenia yet. Extremely wealthy people supporting the poor for political or glorious purposes is also a part of charitable culture, which is very developed in our country. Drinking champagne in the streets when someone is detained is also a form of culture. The deeper and wider someone’s knowledge is, the higher and more honest their demonstrations of culture are.
Therefore, education and culture are strongly tied to one another, and in a way, the optimization of those two ministries is right (not simply in a governmental optimization and upholding state structures manner). However, it is a priority to have a revolution in those sectors and get rid of the old Bolshevik mentality. The following conviction can be found behind these methods: “Everything before us was bad, it was wrong, everyone stole, they all made themselves look bad, and now we’re here- we’re angels.” This approach is ineffective, but it is especially not good in these departments, which demand some sort of upkeep, and besides that, sensitivity toward the people who work there.
The contingent that the “humanitarian issues” ministry works with is only full of those who worship medals and who falsify elections. The majority is full of people who are truly dedicated to children, educating students, or they’re actors who can’t live without some sort of stage, and many people invest themselves fully in education and culture without expecting any material benefits or official treatment. Now, after the revolution, we need to make use of their wealth, and give people the opportunity to breathe and to create freely. We can only create a new society with a new mentality, and if that is successful, the social and economic effects of that will be great.
Aram Abrahamyan
