“All patriotic Armenians are now on France Square.” “Those who oppose our prime minister are the servants of the thieves and Putin’s slaves.” We often hear such thoughts these days. It is a well-known rhetorical (in other cases, marketing) trick. People are put in front of a false alternative and then they are blackmailed- choose one of them, and if you do not choose, then you are in favor of all kinds of evils. Inexperienced people are frightened by it and thrown into the arms of this or that extreme, so as not to be labeled “non-patriotic” or “thief.” In fact, standing on the square and beating your chest that you are a patriot, or vice versa- cursing those standing in the square to show that you are not a thief or part of the “5th column” – both are not difficult, nor do they imply separate deprivations or even inconveniences. Sometimes it is much more difficult not to fly with this or that “herd”.
It is clear that political struggle usually does not take place without “divides.” “This rally and march showed that the divide is clearly delineated. On the one hand, we have a dignified, free, brave, heroic citizen, the Armenian people, and on the other hand, the scum of the nation,” said the first president Levon Ter-Petrossian on February 9, 2008, who, being a scientist, could not help but know based on other events in history what such divides can lead to. I have had the opportunity to write that this style of political struggle has had an impact on the thinking of both the society and the modern political elite.
But in the history of mankind there is seldom a different approach or different style, which can be called a “struggle based on spiritual values.” The most famous bearer of this mentality, of course, is Mahatma Gandhi, who is also a well-known politician, but he built his activity not on “divides,” but on cooperation, considering his friend and supporter not only to all the people of India, but to the whole of humanity. Gandhi, of course, fought hard and uncompromisingly, but he fought not against people, but against systems and methods. He did not say, for example, “Become a follower of Hinduism, otherwise I will say that you are the embodiment of evil.” He wrote that all religions are right, at the same time all religions are delusional, and all religions are as precious to him as his own. Gandhi’s only wish was for a Christian to become a better Christian, a Muslim to become a better Muslim, and so on.
If this is true for people of different nationalities and religions, then it is three times true for one nation and one religion in principle. While being obsessed with various “divides,” the representatives of the Armenian political forces should sometimes think about the “waters” that unite us, Armenians. Otherwise, this senseless political upheaval could last forever.
Read also
Aram Abrahamyan
