“The people have become wild. They do not understand what is happening,” one of my most-respected intellectuals recently told me. I think this is the most accurate description of the situation. This is not in regard to the destruction caused by Pashinyan and his team; instead, they are consequences and, as one might say, a reflection of the ‘will of the people.’ This person revealed the basis from which the disaster happened to us. If our society’s attitude were different, this catastrophe would not have happened.
What is the reason for this wildness? In 1930, Spanish philosopher and essayist Jose Ortega y Gasset wrote about this phenomenon. “The masses are suppressing all the sprouts of the opposition. It does not want to find common ground with anyone but itself. The masses have a deadly hatred for anything that is not part of the masses.” The philosopher was speaking about Spain, the country where a regime change took place 6 years after writing this, and where the leader considered Hitler and Mussolini to be the best role models until 1975. Wasn’t it the masses who brought those three to power?
The pro-Nikol masses that represent Armenia, within the framework of their not-so-powerful intellect and not-so-wide horizons, are ‘insulting’ Ter-Petrossian these days because he simply has stated that their boss or idol is inadequate and worships his seat. The members of My Step insult and the masses rejoice; “Oh, my dear, you didn’t break, you broke them, and you put them in their place.” But let’s be completely honest: when did this type of behavior become popular? Who was the one who said, “Anyone who is against us is a scoundrel?” With which list did Nikol Pashinyan become a deputy for the first time? One of my relatives asked me how it happened that the high-quality masses from 1988 and their leader raised poor-quality masses with poor leaders. This is an important question that is worth thinking about.
The pro-Nikol masses are ‘burning books.’ That expression, of course, is used figuratively. It is not possible to do what was possible in 1930s Germany in 21st century Armenia. But the basis is the same; today’s struggle is against thought, knowledge, horizons, eloquence, and seeing different sides and shades in each phenomenon. If their electorate starts using their brains, they may abandon the ‘whoever is against Nikol supports Serzh and Robert’ ideology- an ideology that helps the current government maintain power.
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What should be used to oppose that? I am not talking about politicians or members of the opposition because I, to be honest, do not believe that a change in government will bring our country out of this catastrophe. If we have a democracy, then the majority of citizens living in a fantasy world will either elect Pashinyan again or someone like him who will lead Armenia to new disasters.
Therefore, within the framework of the political struggle, we will not have any progress. Knowledge, memory, and culture must be used to fight the ignorance of the masses- everything that has been established over the centuries. Once again referring to this expression, we need to fight burning books with reading books. Do you remember Ray Bradbury’s story?
Aram Abrahamyan
