Armenian Genocide Bill Postponed: Unmaking a Statement

Since when (Orwell?) have politicians been, and with both objectivity and rigor, historians?

These representatives have been described by Reuters as the "leading sponsors" of the Armenian Genocide Bill, the vote on which has been postponed at their insistence.

• Adam Schiff, 29th District, California;
• Brad Sherman, 27th District, California;
• Anna Eshoo, 14th District, California;
• Frank Pallone, 6th District, New Jersey.

As a Democrat, I like these four "leading sponsors" for their other stands but have been unable to make sense of this latest, much less of the general, isolationist anti-war bandwagon that helped haul this worn piece of lobbyist-driven draft law into the national spotlight just in time to witness Turkey's overdue effort to defend its people from the sporadic violence of the PKK.

As far removed by context as by time, the Armenian Catastrophe (many synonyms may do) may have been tantamount to genocide (armies once did anhilate their enemies, and enemies could well be defined by ethnic, religious, or tribal identity), but I don't know that, and as historians continue to argue the matter (with the records made openly available to scholars by the Turkish government, no less), I don't feel qualified to assume the "moral authority" to judge the conclusions, if any, of trained and specialized Ph.D's. 

In a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the four declaimed, "We believe that a large majority of our colleagues want to support a resolution recognizing the genocide on the House floor and that they will do so, provided the timing is more favorable." [1]

On what basis other than political lemminghood will they ever do that?

In the open societies of the west, history is not written by amorphous "winners" but rather independent scholars who enjoy the intellectual freedom to delve into the horrors of the past and convey to all who may be interested, future generations included, their reading of the record. 

In fact, one may note, it is generally the most egotistical of belligerents who extoll revisionist and politically stamped histories.

Gentleman and lady, the sooner you wash your hands of this backwards, albeit Orwellian, stumping, the better.

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1. Congressman Schiff's Blog.

2. Brad Sherman for Congress.

3. Anna Eshoo for Congress.

4. Frank Pallone for New Jersey.

5. "Push for Armenian Genocide Bill postponed."  Reuters, October 26, 2007.

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Correspondence: James S. Oppenheim

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