We can’t all be Generals.
Posted on June. 17. 2021
By Garbis Korajian
In the upcoming June election in Armenia, there are 27 parties, including independent and alliance parties, that are running for Parliamentary seats. Allow me to share a true story with you that is relative to this impending milestone.
According to oral community history, Ethiopia, the country where I was born and raised, had a small Armenian community that numbered close to one thousand. In the early 1960s, the Armenian community members fought fiercely against each other to elect the leaders of their Community Council. No matter who got involved to make peace between rival groups, including the Pope of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, it proved impossible to reconcile their differences. Through the grapevine perhaps, or informed his security office, Emperor Haile Selassie was made aware of these internal conflicts amongst the Armenians. The story goes like this. One morning, the Emperor was walking through the Imperial stables at the southern wing of the palace where prized horses of the Emperor were kept – including a horse donated to the Emperor by Queen Elizabeth. He approached his trusted stablemaster, Colonel Kosroff Boghossian and asked him, “Colonel, could you explain to me why you Armenians always fight with each other?” The Colonel, who was caught off guard by the Emperor’s question, thought for a few seconds and replied, “Your Majesty, the reason we fight with each other is because all of us want to be Generals and no one wants to be a regular soldier.” The Emperor, who was apparently very surprised and impressed by the quick and witty answer from his stablemaster, said to him “Khosroff, you are a very smart man. No one could have answered my question better than you. Bravo!”
My fellow Armenians, therein lies the fact that has remained true over the course of history when it comes to Armenians and the struggles for power. Similar, to the small Armenian community of Ethiopia, most Armenians who live in the diaspora and in Armenia want to be Generals. No one wants to be a soldier. Our upcoming election on June 20th is a reflection of this General-Soldier dichotomy, and precisely why we have 27 parties running for election. We must remember that the strength of our force as Armenians requires both soldiers and Generals. Not all are capable of being Generals, and the force would not exist without the strength of its soldiers. Each must forget their lust for power and fall in line for the sake of our nation.