Thought for today, Wednesday, 03\19\14: Is Putin hero or the devil? Americans seem to gravitate towards the Ukraines nationalist explanation of events. But there is also a Crimean and a Russian nationalism, too. Lets say that everybody in that area of the world right now is acting more supernationalist than nationalist. A supernationalist is a person who is irrational on any dispute affecting their countrys wealth or power. A nationalist just loves their country, and can, if prodded, think in a balanced and accurate way. Today, some Americans are thinking of this crisis in a supernationalist way, too. Lets get real. First, taking the Crimea, a small area in the Black Sea, is not exactly taking over the world. Second, Putin is acting on Russias self-interest. He is neither a Hitler nor a Stalin. Third, the Russian moves have nothing to do with destroying western civilization or against God or whatever. Did his actions break international law? Well, what is international law? Is there a world government with a world constitution? No. International law is customs and traditions. All nations break these customs whenever their self-interest is at stake. Lets listen to Putins speech in the Kremlin Hall yesterday. Putin said, They tell us that we are violating the norms of international law. First of all, its good that they at least remember that international law exists. Then, Putin pointed at what he called U.S. trampling of international norms in wars in Serbia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Our Western partners, said Putin, led by the U.S. prefer to proceed not from international law, but the law of might in their policies. He then denounced Western arrogance, hypocrisy, and pressure. He then pointed at NATOs eastward expansion, the alliances U.S.-led missile defense plans and finally the Western moves to pull the Ukraine into its orbit. Yes, these are Russian interests, and it would be in our interest to listen to them, and recognize that our two countries do not have to agree to everything the other does to respect the fact that both of us have enough nuclear armed missiles to blow ourselves off the map. We need, perhaps, to remember what the former President of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khruschev said after the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, We must either learn to live together in peace or most surely we will die together in war. What are your thoughts on this?
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 15:36:15 +0000
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