Vladimir Putin does not have "traditional values." Vladimir Putin is a former KGB agent turned gangster-government strongman. So when he says things like this, it's worth remembering that he's not advocating things he really believes in; he's advocating things he thinks will exacerbate divisions in the West.
It would behoove us to find a way to attain the stability associated with 'traditional values' without playing into the hands of people like Putin.
I would rather have Putin as President of the US than just about any American politician. Putin is a Russian patriot. Is there an American patriot anywhere in politics. Maybe Gabbard? Putin also saved Russia from the wreckage of Yeltsin and the Wall Street financiers. He ran off the oligarchs who had stolen Russia's industries with Wall Street money. He led an economic recovery and rebuilt Russia's military. He has a sane foreign policy that serves Russia's interests.
ReplyDeleteRussia today is authoritarian but with significant amounts of democracy. Probably as much as we actually have.
Putin's values are closer to what I would call traditional than any of the foreign-owned criminals in Washington.
Putin is a patriot in the sense that Louis XIV was a patriot: when you identify the state with yourself, it's easy to feel good about it. I suppose that's 'traditional' in some sense, since the reference is Early Modern.
ReplyDeleteWhich is not to say that we have a good thing going here, particularly. I'm not sure how much is salvageable, honestly, but I am sure that what used to be America will survive in a smaller space than now; while our megacities will not be America any longer. I don't know what can be done about that, although Escape From New York provides a happy suggestion.
Conservatives have always been too unquestioning of leaders who claim they will get the young people to get jobs and have families rather than lounging around on the streets getting into trouble. Christians own significant guilt here.
ReplyDeleteAmericans have attempted to redefine patriotism in terms of ideas rather than blood-and-soil. While we have not entirely succeeded at that, it does mean that our patriotism is somewhat different than others.
I disagree with Mr. Sykes about the degree of democracy, here and there. I think the distance is still vast.
Since USA was allied with RUssia, even during the Cold War, it makes perfect sense for American patriots to welcome a Russian czar as President.. heh.
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