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THE BITTER TRUTH . . . AND OUR BRIGHT FUTURE
ARAM HAMPARIAN
www.asbarez.com/index.html?showarticle= 42018_5/4/2009_1
Friday, May 1, 2009
The bitter disappointment of seeing President Obama break his pledge is
a sad reminder that putting America on the side of truth and justice
will take more than the facts, more than morality, even more than
the promises of those who have sought our trust and our votes.
No. I wish it were that easy.
Aligning U.S. policy with American values will take power, political
power, and the only way we can generate the hard-hitting impact we'll
need to push back against the foreign and domestic forces aligned
against a righteous policy on the Armenian Genocide (one worthy of
the United States) is to work together. To pull together as a team.
A victory for our community, will be a win for America, and a step
toward a safer world.
In a very powerful sense, we are today, as Armenian Americans, the
conscience of America on genocide, the community that - through the
force of our will - is at the cutting edge of lifting the US response
to genocide above the level of politics and foreign policy, to where
our response belongs, at the level of our values and common humanity.
This is hard work, but we're making progress. Just look at the
unprecedented major media coverage of the Armenian Genocide this
April 24th - much of it sharply critical of the President's foresaken
pledge, all of it respectful of the electoral muscle of the Armenian
American community.
Which brings me to the reason for my article.
Organizing is clearly the key to our strength. I could offer a long
explanation as to why, but one of my favorite quotes really spells
it out better than I ever could:
"At the banquet table of nature, there are no reserved seats. You
get what you can take, and you keep what you can hold. If you
can't take anything, you won't get anything, and if you can't
hold anything, you won't keep anything. And you can't take anything
without organization." - A. Philip Randolph He really understood that
organizing, with all its challenges and frustrations, represents the
best hope for change, for progress, for a better future.
In just a few weeks, you will have a chance to radically elevate the
level of organizing in the Armenian American community. The ANCA
Endowment Fund will be holding a national Telethon to raise funds
to strengthen our voice, advance our values, and truly realize our
vision for a just and secure future.
In the best of the American and Armenian traditions, the ANCA Endowment
Fund truly represents the Armenian American community - in all our
diversity and our unity - organized, mobilized and working together
as a team.
You'll be hearing more about the Telethon in the coming days, but I
wanted you to hear from me personally about how vital it is that you
spread the word to family and friends.
ARAM HAMPARIAN
www.asbarez.com/index.html?showarticle= 42018_5/4/2009_1
Friday, May 1, 2009
The bitter disappointment of seeing President Obama break his pledge is
a sad reminder that putting America on the side of truth and justice
will take more than the facts, more than morality, even more than
the promises of those who have sought our trust and our votes.
No. I wish it were that easy.
Aligning U.S. policy with American values will take power, political
power, and the only way we can generate the hard-hitting impact we'll
need to push back against the foreign and domestic forces aligned
against a righteous policy on the Armenian Genocide (one worthy of
the United States) is to work together. To pull together as a team.
A victory for our community, will be a win for America, and a step
toward a safer world.
In a very powerful sense, we are today, as Armenian Americans, the
conscience of America on genocide, the community that - through the
force of our will - is at the cutting edge of lifting the US response
to genocide above the level of politics and foreign policy, to where
our response belongs, at the level of our values and common humanity.
This is hard work, but we're making progress. Just look at the
unprecedented major media coverage of the Armenian Genocide this
April 24th - much of it sharply critical of the President's foresaken
pledge, all of it respectful of the electoral muscle of the Armenian
American community.
Which brings me to the reason for my article.
Organizing is clearly the key to our strength. I could offer a long
explanation as to why, but one of my favorite quotes really spells
it out better than I ever could:
"At the banquet table of nature, there are no reserved seats. You
get what you can take, and you keep what you can hold. If you
can't take anything, you won't get anything, and if you can't
hold anything, you won't keep anything. And you can't take anything
without organization." - A. Philip Randolph He really understood that
organizing, with all its challenges and frustrations, represents the
best hope for change, for progress, for a better future.
In just a few weeks, you will have a chance to radically elevate the
level of organizing in the Armenian American community. The ANCA
Endowment Fund will be holding a national Telethon to raise funds
to strengthen our voice, advance our values, and truly realize our
vision for a just and secure future.
In the best of the American and Armenian traditions, the ANCA Endowment
Fund truly represents the Armenian American community - in all our
diversity and our unity - organized, mobilized and working together
as a team.
You'll be hearing more about the Telethon in the coming days, but I
wanted you to hear from me personally about how vital it is that you
spread the word to family and friends.