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Exploring the feelings behind the worldview theme--another project WORLDVIEW  theme song...                        

song for theme #37A: Proud Nationalism

“Proud to be Anatolian…Armenian…Athenian” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of Proud to be An American by Lee Greenwood

 

It means so much to me:

The heritage where I belong

But it’s complicated

My forebears didn’t much get along

I’d say celebrating it requires three songs

And even those could not begin

To right all the wro—oongs

 

First I’m proud to be Anatolian1,

Living in modern Turkey

Homeland of Indo-European

Language diversity2

It began at Catalhoyuk3

And was fought for at Galipoli4

And by our father Ataturk5

Turkey’s nationality

 

 

And I’m proud to be an Armenian6

And hear you call me Hye7

In Yerevan8 with Mount Ararat9

Or here seeking to glorify

Our past as the first nation

To adopt Christianity10

And after genocide11 and occupation12

Today being free

 

And I’m proud to be an Athenian13

My mother used to say

Logos’14 triumph over chaos

Gave us the Greek way

Men like Socrates and Plato

Inspired democracy

And building a world on reason

The key to being free

 

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS

1—From Anatolia, the westernmost protrusion of Asia sometimes called Asia Minor.

2—The oldest written versions of this language family, spoken by three billion people today, are from here.

3—One of the first proto-cities, this Neolithic site is 9500 years old. It was once home to ~10,000 people.

4—This World War I battle site—where huge numbers of young men died in a protracted invasion battle—is not only important to

      Turkey’s heritage, but also to Australians’ and New Zealanders’.

5—Mustafa Kemal Ataturk  (1881-1938) was modern Turkey’s founder. Roughly speaking, what George Washington did for the

     United States, Ataturk did for Turkey (and perhaps then some!)

6—From Armenia, a small mountainous country east of Turkey.

7—In Armenian, this word describes one as an Armenian (just as USA citizens call themselves Americans.)

8—The capital of modern Armenia.

9—In the Bible’s Old Testament, this is where Noah’s ark came to rest. It lies on the border between Turkey and Armenia.

10—This happened in 301 AD, twenty or so years before Christianity became the Roman Empire’s religion.

11—Over one million Armenians were killed in the 1915-1917 genocide: deliberate, systematic mass slaughter of an ethnic,

        political or cultural group.  Turkey denies responsibility and claims the deaths were part of a civil war in the region (which

       was already engulfed in World War I).

12—Briefly independent from 1918 to 1920, Armenia was incorporated into the Soviet Union until 1991.

13—From Athens, the capital of modern Greece, and the birthplace of democracy in the fifth century BC.

14—To Aristotle (384-322 BC) logos meant “reasoned discourse”èthe idea of an orderly universe

 Comment: this theme has value as emotional armor: 1) joining others offers strength protecting against feeling alone fears, 2) feeling part of a heritage offers continuity and protection from feeling isolated, alone. But behind this theme’s “feel good” joining, as was discussed in Part Id,  may be (oxytocin fueled) prejudice, outgroup derogation, ethnocentrism, etc. potentially leading to conflict and violence. 

back to theme #37A

the above song is part of The Worldview Theme Song Book: Exploring the Feelings Behind Worldviews--click here for more information

Musicians--We'd love it if you perform this song!  Please contact us!