A conversation spread on social media in which two Armenians are speaking about going to space and the Surmalu market funding travel to Mars and Jupiter. That conversation is most likely fake, and most likely humor, but it’s a very accurate presentation of our society. And the first thought I had was that it is an accurate and collective representation of those who support the current Prime Minister. It represents people who did not read books or do well in school (despite the fact that it’s very possible they have a diploma in higher education). They created “filters” in their minds against diverse information, and they live in a world full of their own preferences and fantasies. It would not be difficult to convince these people that the Earth is flat.
Of course, there are educated and open-minded individuals who support Pashinyan. They are representatives of the current government and people connected to the government who perhaps have some expectations regarding their and their children’s positions and careers.
There are also people who chronically obedient. But this segment of the government’s supporters consists of several hundred people. It is difficult to consider them the majority of voters. The group that the aforementioned sketch describes and whose representatives we frequently interview (such as in Ararat, and earlier, in Gyumri and Vanadzor) consists of the majority.
Therefore, the problem is not Pashinyan. He simply is a reflection of the tragic situation society is currently in. But the process of regression, naturally, is not limited to the past 2.5 years; that is a history of at least 30 years. There are many factors. Children received a poor education in the 1990s. There are many flaws with the education system, the majority of intellectuals emigrated, and the rest of them are scared to become targets by the majority. There is also the reality online. For example, if you believe that the Earth is flat, you will find many “facts” to support that online (or if Pashinyan says so, then that’s it, that’s the only truth). I am only discussing several factors here. There will be a more comprehensive analysis in the future.
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I am also responsible for this degradation. Once again, I will only speak about a few of my failures. In 1997, I was unable to convince my readers that we would be able to maintain the majority of Artsakh if we conceded a small portion of it. In 2007-2008, I was unable to convince them that the belief “whoever is not with us is a scoundrel” is wrong. In 2016, I was unable to convince anyone that attacking a police department and murdering people are dangerous crimes. In 2018, I was unable to convince anyone that rejecting someone is not a political agenda. In this case and in many others, I was in the “vast minority,” and the word “intelligent” became an insult on Facebook. But I am not angry at anyone. Just the opposite: I believe that people like me should have made more of an effort in tragic situations like this.
… Lately, I have been reading “comforting” statements, such as, “The people didn’t lose, the authorities (government, army, and others) did.” We don’t need to blur the reality: the people lost, we all lost, I lost.
Aram Abrahamyan
