The Armenian Genocide Resolution is not dead, this is only a time-out

Although I’m not much of a sports fan, I empathize with the football today. (Please forgive my simple analogy, but it comforts me and my hope is that it may serve you similarly.)

Once again, yesterday, the Armenian Genocide Resolution (HR 252) almost made it over the finish line in one of the world’s most important political arenas, the United States House of Representatives. But, in the final moments of the 111th Congress, the resolution was not brought to the floor for a vote, leaving many Armenians angry and discouraged.

If you know anything about football, you know the objective of the game is to keep the ball on the field and you must keep moving it forward until your team gets the football over the goal line (before the time runs out). There are many factors that can make this seemingly straight-forward game hard to win. Here are a few:

1. As any parent of a little league soccer player knows, if the players on the opposing team are bigger than your players (and if they have more money to outfit and train their players), your team is probably going to get crushed.
2. Even among the most honorable opponents, fair and objective referees and linesmen are needed. If the other team unfairly influences the officials, then no matter how talented your team is, they will not win.
3. Your team members must develop the ability to come together and work as a team. When the stakes are high, no team can afford bickering, catering to egos, or fighting over differing agendas.

When we look back at great moments in sports history, we are reminded of countless examples of the underdog prevailing. Such champions have an unwavering faith, perseverance, skill, and an understanding that defeating a stronger opponent takes patience and the ability to wear them down. It also helps to win the hearts and minds of onlookers.

Dear Armenian peoples of the world, we are smaller than our opponent. But, we know our cause is just and important, not only for ourselves, but for everyone concerned about basic human rights.

There are many signs that we are close to defeating our opponent as long as we keep persevering. We are succeeding at exposing the dishonest officials and disqualifying them from influencing the outcome of our objective to win pass of the Armenian Genocide Resolution in the US House of Representatives. We have also gained yardage in our struggles to move our resolution forward toward its passage. Now, we must stop allowing in-fighting among our own team members.

This ‘game’ is not over, their is no time clock for exposing the truth, it is only the time for this session of Congress that has run out. But, during 2010, we became wiser and stronger. We succeeded in winning more friends the world over—people who now share our commitment to gaining the US Government’s official recognition of what it already knows, Turkey committed a genocide. (Most governments, including Turkey’s know this truth as well, but they remain attached to unethical reasons for keeping silent.) I’m hearing more and more people tell me that by denying the Armenian Genocide, the government of Turkey has done more to promote awareness of the Armenian Genocide than we could possibly do ourselves.

Let’s rest, celebrate the coming of a New Year, and share the joy of Christmas with our loved ones. When the clock starts up again, we will join together again and focus on winning the US’s formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide. And, when we win, envision how we will dedicate this victory to the last living Armenian Genocide survivors among us, and the memory of our dear family members who died or were separated from us almost a century ago.