Sumo Lounge
Since the fall of Soviet Union we have setup a very bad example for big powers in this world. The lesson is, if you have money, resources and power, you can attack, bomb, occupy and dismantle any smaller, weaker and poorer country, and nobody can do anything about it. This is the lesson Vladimir Putin has learned very well and now he is on his crusade to reap results from this learning. To the least, a very serious crisis is ripening in Ukraine. Almost completely unmoved by sanctions, Russia retaliated by banning food products from sanctioning countries. On the other hand, rebels in Ukraine with or without Russian support, keep creating a havoc in the country. The problem is that Russia is not alone in this venture.
China seems to be its biggest supporter in challenging the American might. In addition to this it is not just about countries and governments. Lots of people, sick and tired of continuing U.S. aggression against country after country, are extending their support to Putin, regardless of right or wrong. Worldwide, Putin is becoming a symbol of resistance to American Imperialism. He may be Imperialistic in his own motives. But, this is not what world is looking at, right now. As usual, ignorant and Narcissistic U.S. and European media, and politicians keep turning over their backs to and under estimating the gravity of this very serious development around the world.
Somehow, like many other imperial powers in human history, we have come to the delusion that in this huge world there is no replacement for us and nothing can stop and affect us. We have all the resources, power and money to achieve whatever the goals we may have. This may be true, for now. But, it is changing rapidly and we should not be closing our eyes from this terrible reality.
There were times when we were the symbol of freedom, mutual respect and human rights. That impression is long gone. Now, we are being viewed as an out of control, sole superpower in the world which just want to keep everyone under its control. Without any shame, we are continuously telling people around the world that their way of living, and political and economic systems are inferior and out dated, and all of them must look like us and must live like us. Of course, people take it very serious and find it extremely insulting. We may have too, if we were in their shoes.
There is no doubt that Putin is very aggressive and violating the sovereignty of Ukraine. But, how much moral authority is left on us to criticize him for that? Beside this, we may not be on the right side on some issues. For example, historically speaking, Crimea has always been a part of Russia. It was given to Ukraine by Khrushchev, himself a Ukrainian when it was still a part of Soviet Union. A large majority of Crimean are ethnic Russians. They did vote overwhelmingly to go with Russia. Making Crimea an issue is a complete nonsense.
After the fall of Soviet Union, Ukraine did become a sovereign state. Russia has no rights to violate its sovereignty. But, there is a civil war going on in Ukraine. The rebels are mostly ethnic Russians. Some of their complaints are justified. Being a neighboring power, Russia has vested interests in Ukraine and Russians living in it. They may be supporting the rebels. But, so are we, in Syria, for example. So did us, in Libya, Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran, Korea and Vietnam. I know that two wrongs do not make one right. But, how much weight Russia is supposed to give to a lesson on sovereignty of other countries, given by us?
Russia is not Soviet Union. But, it is still a big nuclear power. In the verge of declining oil prices, its economy is a bit in recession. But, it holds the second largest cash reserve in the world, after China. On the other hand, contrary to us, Europe is very much dependent on Russia when it comes to energy and trade. Sanctions on Russia are not only going to hurt Russia. Those are going to hurt a lot to, mostly ailing, European economies. Those are going to have detrimental effects on our merely recovering economy, too.
In the midst of our already over stretched and very expensive militaristic involvement in the affairs of many other countries, we absolutely cannot afford a nuclear war with Russia. The idiots in Washington and so called gurus in big media must understand this. A war between Russia and U.S. is without any doubt going to nuclear and will be extremely disastrous. It will destroy the world and its economy. Greatest destruction is going to be in warring countries including us. It is even hard to imagine, how many innocent lives it can cost, in U.S., Russia, and Europe and even in the other parts of world.
Putin is crazy. We shouldn’t be. We must find a peaceful solution to this problem. It is going to be very hard but not impossible. The other powers in the world like China and Russia are basically acting out in reaction to our growing military influence in the world. Our foreign policy should be based on posing no threats to other countries. Live and let live is the best principle for the prosperity and growth of humanity. Instead of making strong demands to an authoritarian, stubborn leader of a big nuclear power, we should set up a good example, ourselves, first.
We have to stop getting worried about what is going on in countries thousands of miles away from us. We must stop interfering in civil wars being fought in other places around the world. We must stop insisting that everyone should live like us. We only have to set up an example of prosperity and growth, and character. People will naturally follow us. If someone doesn’t that is their problem, not ours. If you do not want to have a piece out of the best pie in town, that is your decision. We have the best pie and will keep enjoying it.
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