Friday, August 03, 2007
The new mantra of the Left: Why do they hate us?
Apparently young Russians don’t have a good opinion about us. Anyone want to guess where a significant amount of the blame should go?
“Yet our survey, conducted in April and May, found that a majority of young Russians view the United States as enemy No. 1. And while Putin's rhetoric is driving this development, human rights violations associated with U.S. counterterrorism policies have played a role.” Young Russia's Enemy No. 1 - washingtonpost.com
That’s right – young Russians don’t like us because of OUR so-called Human Rights Violations. And authors Sarah E. Mendelson and Theodore P. Gerber find this ominous. Now I know that for many on the Left, fretting over why others hate us is the essence of diplomacy and foreign relations. For them, I guess it does make sense to shape our foreign policy and anti-terrorism efforts to curry favor with the young Russians. But I’d advise caution as I just can’t get that excited about the youngsters' opinions on what they think we’re doing:
"Today, many Russians show symptoms of collective amnesia about the past, and a majority of young Russians believe Joseph Stalin (1929–1953) did more good than bad. Although intellectuals in many countries complain that the next generation in their own countries do not receive adequate training in history, in Russia this “absent memory” appears to have political consequences. As long as they remain positively inclined toward Stalin, young Russians are unlikely to embrace concepts such as justice and human rights.” Washington Quarterly
The authors? Sarah E. Mendelson and Theodore P. Gerber.
“Yet our survey, conducted in April and May, found that a majority of young Russians view the United States as enemy No. 1. And while Putin's rhetoric is driving this development, human rights violations associated with U.S. counterterrorism policies have played a role.” Young Russia's Enemy No. 1 - washingtonpost.com
That’s right – young Russians don’t like us because of OUR so-called Human Rights Violations. And authors Sarah E. Mendelson and Theodore P. Gerber find this ominous. Now I know that for many on the Left, fretting over why others hate us is the essence of diplomacy and foreign relations. For them, I guess it does make sense to shape our foreign policy and anti-terrorism efforts to curry favor with the young Russians. But I’d advise caution as I just can’t get that excited about the youngsters' opinions on what they think we’re doing:
"Today, many Russians show symptoms of collective amnesia about the past, and a majority of young Russians believe Joseph Stalin (1929–1953) did more good than bad. Although intellectuals in many countries complain that the next generation in their own countries do not receive adequate training in history, in Russia this “absent memory” appears to have political consequences. As long as they remain positively inclined toward Stalin, young Russians are unlikely to embrace concepts such as justice and human rights.” Washington Quarterly
The authors? Sarah E. Mendelson and Theodore P. Gerber.
