PEOPLE WITH OLD THINKING CANNOT MAKE DECISIONS NOW
Siranuysh Papyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
17:39 11/12/2012
Interview with Manvel Sargsyan, ACNIS Director
Mr. Sargsyan, why have we arrived at this state of political
degradation? Is this political degradation due to public degradation?
Everything is based on human thinking. Over the past twenty years of
independence of Armenia this thinking that seemed very convincing has
revealed its void. A lot of people think this is something objective,
a thinking that has been void since the very beginning, leading the
country into this metamorphosis. Ara Nedolyan says Gagik Tsarukyan
is Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s mask, this is a thinking that gives birth to
heroes. The hero of 1991 has transformed into this hero which reveals
the essence of this void thinking. A hero is a mythical character
which matches the dominant thinking. It has been a void phenomenon
which is a deep, complicated phenomenon. The society will not get
anywhere new unless it tries to understand why this approach is void.
It has been stated for several times that at the beginning of
independence we had a different parliament, an intellectual
parliament. Or has it been “bankrupt” since the very beginning?
They were mostly educated people who came with the wave of the movement
but being educated and being void are different things. If healthy
thinking were based on education, we would not be in this situation
but this is not so. I can see that the main reason is the lack of
internal freedom. The Armenian political class has had a servile
attitude so far. People could not believe that a person can establish
his right. Look, they want to surprise us with the idea of legitimacy
with Brussels, Moscow, Washington. Performances of legitimacy are a
means of gaining value in the eyes of people, having people recognize
them as an important figure. However, when a person is not free and
is looking for masters, he is their master. Now the greater part of
the society doubts and rejects this thinking because has understood
the void of this thinking.
You mean the society has gained inner freedom while political
figures not?
Yes, the society has changed its approach, and now what is found in
Armenia is thought to be a void thinking and life style, this is now
happening and this is a painful process which boosts aggression in
the society. When part of the society rejects this thinking, they
are treated with cruel hatred, the old society does not recognize
the new ones, they say they are not like us so they are safe. This
process is a hard process but one needs to be happy because people
with old thinking cannot make decisions now, they must free the space
for those new. This is a lasting process and it does not necessarily
need to proceed in leaps.
Why are the new ones unable to infect the society with a majority
that wants to be a kind and lives with the psychology of a servant?
Victory is to overcome oneself, become a master from a slave. Then,
whatever you put your finger on is yours. This is a difficult process
because even a person who is aware of the situation must display an
attitude. There are larger layers of people who understand what is
going on but it does not mean that they have changed their attitude
to the reality – being a slave is more attractive. They are nervous
but it does not mean that they have overcome themselves. So, there
is jealousy with people who can overcome. People can understand their
own weakness, so can a slave understand that he is a slave but it does
not mean they will change their attitude. Those are deep psychological
issues. Most people who have left are people who have realized this.
But they did not want to change their attitude and become free, they
simply left and abandoned the space. It is very important whether
a citizen changes his attitude after understanding comes on on the
contrary.
Or a lot of people say it is clear that the election will be rigged
but we must vote and prove to people and the world that they will rig
the election again. But is proving a value? There is no need to prove
anything to people. People have already got enough evidence. The idea
of proving is the same void thinking of the past twenty years the
meaning of which is to prove the abstract meaning of life. In other
words, the meaning is to prove to everyone that you carry something in
you. However, a master will never prove anything to anyone, a master
will stand up for his rights. A person who is unable to stand up for
his rights focuses his philosophy of life at proving. As soon as people
overcome this issue, there will be a revolution. A revolution is to
gain the ability of establishing one’s right instead of proving the
revolution here and there. Are you able to prove your right and have
others recognize your right? If yes, you are a free person, if no,
you share the same void thinking. A person feels weak but does not
understand that his thinking makes him weak.
What can the new thinking change in the old society?
When a society is unable to take care of their rights, form a
government, the entire country falls into an oligarchy, decays, and
all the mechanisms go to the riffraff. However, the most important
question that occurs is why the society has been unable to change
the situation for such a long time. Why did we lose these five years?
Because we tried to overcome oligarchy, the result of the thinking
of the past twenty years, by means of the same thinking. How can you
bring something new with the old thinking? New thinking will lead to
change? Why are they all mad about Mashtots Park? Because they saw
that people are saying something else, they do not say we will prove
or we will beg anyone. We say go away, we are the masters. Have you
ever seen an average statistical Armenian intellectual behave in this
way? That is why they do not believe. This is the agony of a dying
person, they do not understand that their death and their tragedy is
caused by the mania of proving…