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It is hard to maintain a strong belief in any major positive political reform coming to Azerbaijan in near future. The corrupted police state is entrenched so deeply through all levels of society that to many it looks invincible. People are used to perceiving elections, dissent and the idea of civil initiative with deep suspicion and a sense of hopelessness. Those who talk about or try to act in favor of change are treated, in the best case, as Don Quixote type romantics, wasting their lives in pursuit of a lost cause, or much worse – as “players” trying to raise their price before they sell themselves out to the government. Such perverse pessimism is largely justified by many betrayals and failures in the recent past. None can be blamed for not seeing the light at the end of this wicked tunnel of oppression and plundering of country's material and intellectual wealth. However, it would be extremely wrong and very unfair to allow ourselves to loose the last remaining affirmative human emotions in such a situation - and that is the enduring hope and respect for our own collective identity, the identity that we already possess, the one we inherited and grew into throughout ages, not some artificial “new Azerbaijan” formulated by “National Leader”.

Calling for hope and self-esteem, I am not talking about “positivism” of pro-government toadies, those who lie and flatter trying to put a thick layer of cheap lipstick on the lips of a fat pig of corruption and defend a morally bankrupt regime. Neither do I want to join the insane chorus of pseudo-patriots and wishful politicians who issue false promises of a quick and easy change, the ever upcoming imminent replacement of the present government or a miraculous internal transformation within it, of liberating lost territories in Karabakh in a span of few weeks and so on. Nor should we encourage oblivious denial of the evident gravity of the current conditions and look for an elusive drop of goodness in the sea of rotten wickedness, thus disheartening its most vocal critics, ignoring its victims and failing to condemn its perpetrators. Instead I would like to ponder on the natural inevitability of change, the power of inspiration in our hearts and the revolution in our minds that a sincere hope can spark and the recognition and promotion of noble qualities in national culture would advance.

Make no mistakes: self-criticism is a vital virtue and everyone is largely responsible for his or her individual and collective circumstances. But no such good trait is meant to be employed as means to reach the moral equivalency between the architects of blatant crimes and their victims, passive bystanders or even unwilling accomplices. Neither the divine qualities of tolerance and mercy can be claimed to excuse your inner content with the obvious injustices and wrongs committed by those who rule the country. Considering themselves the “elite”, because of the openly stolen riches and usurped power they possess, they look down upon you and do not even imagine asking forgiveness from anyone. Even so, it is still them, not you, who are crawling at the very bottom of human moral descend. Therefore, people have not only a sacred right but a profound obligation to express their indignation at these puffed-up self-proclaimed “lords”, be it through actions or words, publicly or in private.

They try to confuse people and destroy their pride by leading everyone to deem that their appalling qualities represent the soul of the nation and their disgraceful record of governance reflects our people’s history. But yet it is not the much scorned “Azeri national mentality”, nor the ignorance, backwardness, or lack of energy and talent in Azerbaijan that led to the perpetual stagnation and defeat. Rather, that is exactly what the government and its beneficiaries would have you believe in.

They are the ones that create, cherish and advance this attitude of desperation and self-loathing. They want us to accept that those who are forced to play by their crooked rules in order to survive - teachers, farmers, low-ranking law enforcement officers, entry and middle level civil employees, struggling businessmen – those numerous souls trapped in the net of corruption are as much responsible as the very “leadership” that runs the system. They wish that everyone would suffer enough guilt to be incapable of feeling and expressing rightful moral outrage at their shameful actions. The veiled part of their skillful propaganda machine works day and night to instill into the population the conviction that it is not them, but the innate flaws of the people and ever-present “geopolitical realities” that cause the suffering of the ordinary citizens. But the thievery, oppression, flattery, moral decay, distrust and disbelief are the products of their own deliberate deeds, not some inevitable fate or historical misfortune.

They want you to loose all hope and self-esteem, maintain silence, forget whatever you learned about right and wrong, and give up your remaining basic human values so that you may no longer find anything repulsive in their behavior and may even desire to become just like them, thus resigning yourselves to their leftovers and the frame of existence that they try to put you in.

Other less educated, much poorer societies, with deeper internal divisions and cultural obstacles, managed to progress, remove despotic and corrupt authorities, and achieve victory in the previously lost wars. All tyrannies and kleptocracies eventually crumble, and the more entrenched they become – the more painful is their ultimate downfall. Every nation, even the most demoralized and seemingly feeble one, inherently deserves and is capable to determine its own fate. The regime realizes this simple truth perfectly well and knows that it has no chance of standing against people inspired by faith in better future and determined to defend their honor. They are scared of hope and self-respect as a wild beast is afraid of fire, and they try to kill any sparks that might light it up.

The history of human kind is that of constant change, for better or worse. Often the change comes suddenly as a violent storm, other times it is as slow as water carving its way through a rock. Some civilizations can get destroyed as a result of it, but some rise up from ruins thanks to its marvelous forces. Under the current circumstances it is hard to perceive how and when it will become tangible in Azerbaijan, but let us have no doubt: every tunnel ends and there is a light at the end of it even though we can not see one. The open question is how to reach the better end and what path is the fastest way to that exit.

Admittedly, we might not at the present point know what exactly needs to be done to move forward on that path and many may not have enough heart or vision to do everything they possibly can. Still, those who dare to take concrete steps or offer specific insights should be encouraged and supported at every turn. They are the ones who should be admired, not the crooks who rise to heights of power and prosperity by ripping off their native land and its people. As a minimum, everyone can follow a simplest scheme: if you can and are willing to act – then do so, if not - then simply speak up and call evil by its name, when unable or afraid to even talk against the beast – at least do not praise it. But whatever you do - never allow it to rob you of hope and dignity.