"Putin's Western fan club" wants to force Eastern Europe into a Russian bearhug

[marmar]

"Putin's Western fan club" wants to force Eastern Europe into a Russian bearhug
Arguing Eastern Europe should be left under Russia's influence makes liberty a privilege of the powerful and mighty

By JOSEF BOUSKA
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 21, 2023 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) Iwas born in a country that weathered two dictatorships and underwent five name changes throughout the 20th century. Our enemies have occupied us. Our allies have as well. We Czechs are imbued with many flaws, but holding illusions about international politics is not among them.

....(snip)....

Trouble is — we don’t like that. Our nations have been exploited, abused, and controlled by Moscow long enough. Colonization at its worst. Living under the shadow of the Iron Curtain has crushed the souls of entire generations. We have had enough. For us, inclusion in NATO isn't a geopolitical game. It's an assurance against reliving the fates of Georgia in 2008, Crimea in 2014, and the rest of Ukraine at present. We want to forge our own destiny. People like Jeffrey Sachs believe we shouldn't have the right to make such a choice.

....(snip)....

Advocates for Russia assert that Putin's latest war is motivated by security. They turn a deaf ear when the Russian leader dismisses Ukraine as a fake nation without a real identity. Putin's supporters at home do listen and understand, because that's what they believe as well. In their view, it is the Russian leaders who should decide the future of Ukraine—and indeed any other nation within their reach.

....(snip)....

The truth is that people like Jeffrey Sachs are, in fact, enemies of freedom. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These words should be sacred to every true American. Saying that Eastern Europe should have been left under Russia's influence makes liberty a privilege of the powerful and the mighty. What's alarming is the lack of response to their words. .............(more)

https://www.salon.com/2023/10/21/putins-western-fan-club-wants-to-force-eastern-europe-into-a-russian-bearhug/

[tornado34jh]

1. Very interesting article

When you have never been under a dictatorship, warlords, or something of that sort, you can't understand it from the outside. The United States, although we have gotten close, has never been in a dictatorship or have been occupied by a foreign power. But I think this article should serve as a warning that it doesn't take much to become forgotten and be at the whim of men with a lot of money.