The hyphenated-Americans in this particular case were those of Turkic and Armenian descent who have long been engaged in a skirmish over how horrible events in Ottoman-ruled Asia Minor during World War I should be described. Armenians say it should be officially affirmed that Anatolian Armenians were victims of a premeditated genocide. Turks vehemently disagree with that legally binding term but tend to acknowledge that atrocities happened. Both sides expend a lot of resources on lobbying Congress. What is presented as a genuine vote of conscience (or technically speaking, sense of Congress) on the topic is often marred by selfish politics and hypocrisy by proponents for both sides. With all due respect to perhaps a few members who truly believe in human rights, who would care about the history of Armenians and Turks in the US Congress, absent the huge lobbying push?
Had Turks lent some of their lobbying budget to Armenians, perhaps that could have taken care of the reparations that they fear they’d have to pay in the event the genocide gets officially recognized by the US. Armenians, on the other hand, could have purchased lots of Aegean islands from cash-thirsty Greece with their lobbying money. Seriously speaking, I wish Armenians had invested their financial and human resources in things like enhancing civil society and critical thinking in Turkey. That would most probably yield the desired outcome in the process of Turkish self-criticism more effectively. Vice versa, Turks would be better off in many ways if they had invested more on cultural and social exchanges especially with diaspora Armenians.
I find a lot of parallels between the way lawyers and lawmakers operate. Lawyers profit from people’s inability to resolve their disputes among themselves. So do lawmakers. In this case, some of them get paid by pro-Armenian enterprises, others by pro-Turks. And that gives me one other good reason to support all reconciliation efforts between Turks and Armenians: putting lawmakers out of business. The final tally might have worked in favor of the Armenian side in the latest congressional saga, with 23 members voting for and 22 against the resolution. No side can claim such a close call a victory. But the business was certainly lucrative for many congressmen.
I don’t understand at all why Americans and Turks should take the US Congress as an institution this seriously. With all the corruption and lack of ethical reforms, its reputation as “the people’s house” has become increasingly tarnished. After all, isn’t this the institution that has so far been unable to come up with sensible plans to end widespread corporate abuse, such as those by health insurance companies? Bailouts for big guys are abundant in Congress, while they pay little heed to the ordinary man’s real concerns. No wonder politicians rank low in most public trust surveys.
The genocide war is a business for many Armenian and Turkish groups. Aside from professional advocates, some prominent civil society organizations depend on this conflict as a source of public visibility, resources and connections. There are certainly many sincere people who operate and support these organizations to have their voices heard. But a lot of politics, self-promotion and profiteering can also come into play.
Given the ongoing post-traumatic effects of the events early in the last century in Ottoman territory, the politics of fear, suspicion and revenge have so far worked effectively on both sides. It’s high time now for Armenians and Turks to question the wisdom of their respective strategies, which don’t seem to be getting us anywhere. Since no decisive victory seems likely for both sides ahead, they need to put more thought into how to divert this from a lose-lose direction to a win-win situation. Instead of subsidizing legislative wars in places like the US Congress, they should give more of a chance to dialogue, understanding, mutual empathy and reconciliation.
See, I may also be a “hyphenated-American,” originally from Turkey. But I’m as determined to put politicians out of business as most unhyphenated-Americans are!
