And That's My Take... (Moving On)

AND THAT’S MY TAKE… (MOVING ON) ©2010 by Curtis Sagmeister. All rights reserved. This year, the Canadian government officially recognized the Armenian genocide at the hands of Turkey in the early part of the 20th century. And while this official recognition is decades too late, it is a monumental shift in public policy for a government that traditionally follows very closely the tone and content of its neighbors to the immediate south. The American government at one time was on the brink of also recognizing the plight of the Armenian, but did an about face quickly when reminded of the strategic importance of their established military bases on Turkish soil. There have been many genocides in the history of mankind, possibly none so prominent as that wrought by Nazi Germany during World War Two where Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, mentally retarded, physically deformed, and even political opponents were systematically eliminated in an effort to establish an elitist worldwide race ‘cleansed’ of undesirables. But let’s not kid ourselves, every country on this little blue marble has initiated or participated in attempted genocide at one time or another. The depravity of mankind knows no boundaries, especially at the hands of crafty spin doctors and their hypnotizing propaganda that feed on our fears and give us permission to point accusatory fingers at certain targets. In Canada and United States, our historic government policies against aboriginal peoples and the internment of those with Japanese ancestry serve as just two glaring examples of more recent participation in our own versions of attempted genocide. The United Nations defines genocide as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group". Officially, the Turks adamantly deny any genocide occurred against the Armenians. One wonders why, after all these years, and long after the passing of those who made the fateful decisions to condemn Armenians, the Turks continue to accept no responsibility for those actions. It would be easy for one of Turkey’s current spin doctors to apologize to the Armenians, blame a different time, a different head space, a different set of circumstances, and that now Turkey is an international melting pot for a variety of peoples while pledging to treat Armenians with equality. Canada did that. Canada apologized to both the aboriginal people and to the Japanese. It doesn’t right the wrong but it does start a healing process. Where it goes from there is up to those directly involved. And frankly, those who claim to now ‘suffer’ because of political policies of oppressing forefathers are not the same who truly paid the price. We can all continue to fight like the Hatfields and McCoys, but rarely can we remember why we started fighting in the first place. And that’s my take…