Threat Axis

Technorati tags: Russia Georgia War Conflict

Ahh, Russia.  How we love to hate you!  We love to hate you so much, and have hated you for so long, that it’s become a habit… an addiction.  In fact, it’s become quite pathetic.

Though the concept of being a patriot, or a revolutionary, is, tragically, long-since dead in the industrialized world, almost everyone still identifies in one form or another with their country of birth, or citizenship, or residence.  Whether we live in a democracy or dictatorship, there is a predisposition to love and trust our own country – or, more to the point, our own country’s government – and at the same time to hate and mistrust other countries – and in that direction, it’s not the government we end up hating, but the actual people of the country in question. This is why we, in America, for example, think we’re so great (because we listen to our endless-motion propaganda machines) while the rest of the world hates us (because our government has made choices that – although “we the people” didn’t make them – we are blamed for.)

So let’s take a hard look in the mirror before we go arbitrarily handing out condemnation worldwide.

In 2001, we were brutally attacked… by terrorists.  Not by a country, even though we were happy to go invade Iraq in retribution.  Not by a religion, even though we’re happy to blame Muslims worldwide in disgust.  And when that attack came, we all cried out for war.  We all cried out for revenge.  Conveniently, most Americans have forgotten this fact.  They have forgotten their anger of that day, and how they directed their anger at evil Iraq and evil Islam, and demanded retribution for the twin towers.  Now, they’ve found a new focus:  The excitement of blaming the mideast has worn off, to be replaced with the pain of the loss of our troops there, so now they’ve found a new drug:  let’s blame George Bush!  The new axis of evil!  Never mind the fact that there were less than 5 “abstainers” out of all the senators and all the representatives who “voted” for war.  Never mind that those people were just doing what their constituents wanted. Oh no – it couldn’t be us!  We couldn’t be the problem!  In such danger of having to face the truth, we turn instead to our scapegoat:  the President of the United States!  Because we all know that everything is his fault.  The war, the attacks, high taxes, smoking, acid rain:  It’s gotta be Bush’s fault!

If the president had a tenth of the authority to go along with the responsibility we’re laying on him through our own desire to feel clean, he would be the strongest dictator the world has ever known.

And what of Russia? 25 years ago, the Soviet Union was our hate-drug of choice:  I remember feeling quite safe, knowing that President Reagan wouldn’t hesitate to push the button if “those commies” even sniffed in our direction.  It was an exciting kind of safe:  Not the “Bill and Ted’s Utopia” kind of safe where everyone on the planet is relaxed and comparing minigolf scores; no, this was the kind of safe based on mutually-assured-destruction – the kind of safe that was uneasy and dangerous just below the apparently calm surface.

The USSR is gone, but we’re not happy.  Bereft of our target of choice, we dig through the ruins and find… Russia!  Woo-hoo!  Let’s hate the Russians!  Yeah!  Or maybe, let’s take a look at them logically instead.

First, Russia is not a dictatorship!  It is not a religion-controlled government (i.e. theocracy.)  Nope, Russia is a federation-based government.  Just like the United States.  They are working to build a democracy and a market-based economy.  Just like the United States.  They are large geographically, with a wide variety of cultural elements, and a diversity of opinion.  Just like the United States.  Oh, Russia has its problems, true. They have government corruption.  They have crime.  They have economic hardships.  They have bad living conditions.  They mistrust foreigners and foreign states.  Do you see it coming?  Here it is:  Just like the United States. We’re so used to playing the hate game that we don’t see the obvious similarities.

And what about world events?  Hmm, let’s see.  We’re all mad at Russia for marching on Georgia.  Never mind that Georgia broke away from the USSR, and is now trying to deny two subprovinces from themselves breaking away from Georgia!  Sorry, Georgia, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander!  Georgia is full of duplicity… but for no other reason than “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” we automatically support Georgia and blame Russia! Oh, and of course, on the “larger” scale, it’s not okay for Russia to march into Georgia, but we’re all fine with marching into Iraq?  Russia had something to point to where Georgia was concerned.  All we had, it turned out, were missing weapons!

Hmm, let’s see, what else?.  We think it’s fine to put missiles on Russia’s border, aimed at Russia, but we can’t believe Russia would send fast frigates to Cuba to form their own shield.  It’s okay for us, but not for them?  Oh, but our missiles are for defense, that’s right!  Conversely the Russian plans must be about total destruction of the United States!

Sorry!  The cold war called – they want their ignorance back.

I’m not saying that what Russia has done, or is doing, is “right”.  Nor am I saying that their actions are wrong.  I’m also not saying that what the United States is doing is “right” or “wrong” either.  What I am saying is simply this:  As long as we’re so caught up in our need to hate, and be afraid, and be angry, and lash out… in short, to live our lives in fear… as long as we’re so caught up in that, we will never make progress as a race, or a world.  A little bit of objectivity goes a long way.

Famous magicians Penn and Teller produce a popular TV show in which they debunk a variety of false beliefs, institutions, and thought processes.  One of their most recent episodes was on World Peace, in which they proposed something which should be obvious to us all, but hit me like a revelation from on high:  The key to world peace, they assert, is, simply, money.  Or, more accurately, trade.  If you buy my products, and depend on them, and I buy your products, and depend on them, then the odds that I’m going to blow you away are significantly reduced… almost to the point of being eliminated!  Amazing!  How simple, and how true!  This made total sense to me.  And it begs a very obvious question:

Why is the United States so willing and eager to trade with China, one of the few remaining communist countries in the world, and yet trade with Russia is insignificant by comparison at best?  By trading with China, are we not tacitly and happily supporting communism?  By alienating Russia without obvious cause, are we not helping to build the very evil that we inaccurately guess already exists, and that we fear without cause, and without knowing why?

I get lots of spam in my email.  Just today I got an advertisement for a book called something like “When our past is present” – purportedly about our tendency to force roles from the past on relationships of the present – that is, when we blame our spouse for something our parent did. Apparently it’s quite a common problem.  I can’t help but wonder if we’re doing that globally as well?  25 years ago, the Soviet Union may have been an aggressive threat… and I don’t even remember thinking about China back then.  But 25 years have passed.  The entire world is different!  Maybe it’s time we start engaging constructively with Russia, rather than just falling back to vague hate. And maybe it’s time we took another look at China, despite their flashy Olympic showing, since they are clearly a growing danger.

At a minimum, maybe it’s time we took an honest look at ourselves and our world, put aside old habits, and updated our threat assessments… in both directions.