Last Sunday, on the occasion of the Holy Resurrection, Prime Minister Pashinyan delivered a congratulatory message where he quoted Psalm No. 139 of David. In that psalm, the king of Israel asks for God’s help to protect himself from evil men setting traps against him. Of course, it is strange to preach against evil (even if it is not authorial) by a leader whose representatives and supporters spread evil, hatred, and enmity daily and every minute, turning people against each other and awakening the lowest instincts. For almost five years, people have been hunting witches (in another version, devils), discovering “5th columns”, and aggressively attacking their opponents almost daily. Suddenly, they are dissatisfied with evil.
For the sake of justice, let us say that preserving biblical values has not distinguished our social life during the last 30 years. But especially in the previous decade, extreme intolerance has been instilled in people; it is done through public speeches, behavior, and fake factories. That propaganda gave its results: in 2018, there was a change of government, and even after the national humiliation of defeat, the government remains the same, thanks to the evil that is “kept alive” by the efforts of official propaganda.
But evil is a consequence; the root cause is vanity (Latin: vanitas).
(Remember Thomas Eliot writing about hollow men?) But it is better to quote from the same Bible. “Now, I say this and testify in the Lord. You will no longer walk as other heathens walk in the vanity of their minds. Their minds are darkened, and they are alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, which is the result of the blindness of their hearts” (Ephesians, 4:17, 18).
The logical chain is thus apparent: vanity (the pursuit of essentially meaningless, empty things) – ignorance – blindness of heart. What is this but the foundation of evil? It is also the psychological basis of the policy of the current government. This policy would not be possible if society did not live with vain values.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
