I have been in the United States for a few years now and have been actively following the goings-on in the Armenian community in this country, apart from events of the wider Armenian world, in the Republic and in the Diaspora. It is no secret that the cause for the Armenian Genocide serves as the major rallying point for our people, if not acting as the sole rallying point for our nation.

There is much that we justly demand from Turkey, and there is much for which we legitimately struggle for Artsakh, opposing Azerbaijan. I am probably not speaking solely for myself, however, when I say that I often get overwhelmed and disillusioned with a lot of our efforts, especially when I think about how much more there is to the Armenian people, to Armenia, to our history and culture, than just the social and political upheavals of the past century.

Of course they remain unresolved, and of course, we cannot lose sight of our goals. But it would be nice to direct resources towards other, less seemingly-immediate, less political or politicised aspects of society much more often than we do, both for the sake of connecting with the more tangible and more lasting facets of our identity, and also for presenting Armenia and the Armenians to the wider world in a more positive, constructive, identifiable light. Continue reading →