Op-Eds, Editorials, and Political Commentary

The Armenian story has always been one of endurance — but endurance, alone, is not destiny. Across continents, the Armenian identity has flourished in every form except coherence: fragmented across languages, borders, and the comfortable distances of exile. And yet, for the first time in a century, the diaspora and Armenia share not only a past, but a horizon.

To “Think Armenian” is to recognize that we are no longer a scattered people mourning a lost home; we are a distributed network capable of sustaining one. The diaspora is not a shadow of Armenia — it is her extended nervous system. But for this system to function, the signals must flow both ways.

We speak passionately about Armenia, but rarely with Armenia. Too often, we’ve substituted symbolic loyalty for strategic collaboration. We argue in conferences, post online, and donate episodically — but the kind of sustained, intelligent participation that builds institutions, not moments, still eludes us. And yet, within our global community lies an unparalleled concentration of expertise, creativity, and access.

To think Armenian is not to divide loyalty — it is to integrate purpose. It means that a doctor in Paris, an engineer in Los Angeles, a musician in Beirut, and a coder in Yerevan are all part of one continuous civic project. It means that the success of one node strengthens the whole network.

The future of Armenia will depend less on slogans and sentiment, and more on systems: systems of mentorship, investment, education, and innovation that transcend geography. The diaspora’s role is not to rescue Armenia, nor to lecture her — but to partner with her, to amplify her strengths and stabilize her vulnerabilities.

Armenia does not need saving. She needs scaling.
She needs the diaspora not as an audience, but as an engine — one that translates memory into momentum.

Thinking Armenian, then, is a collective design challenge: how to convert emotion into energy, identity into infrastructure, nostalgia into navigation. It is a call for a more mature patriotism — one that measures love not by volume, but by velocity.

Because in the end, the question isn’t whether we belong to Armenia — it’s whether Armenia can still belong to all of us.