Hello Harold
Thanks for your lengthy response. I have read your Part 1 and will comment later.
When I joined Medium four years ago, there was a contributor named Chris Crawford. He had an astute saying: "Things are often more complicated then they seem to be." Those for us parking ourselves in front of a keyboard and monitor and reading books from experts have a limited perspectives on domestic/geopolitical issue than the people actually working on these matters as part of their jobs. Unfortunately, too many of us believe we know more than these experts, when in fact, we just may have reached our positions based on the simplifications proffered by the mass media and/or politicians. In other words, we are limited in what we know--especially for those of us "far away" and will not have the resources to get closer.
So if I have come to certain position, I acknowledge that new facts and perspectives can change that position. Regardless, I believe my positions are better thought out than most of the masses. I know this sounds arrogant, but this arrogance goes up and down the spectrum, regardless of how well we really know "our stuff." I would say this is part of our culture: we are smarter than the people we disagree with.
1. Imperialism has been part of many people's identity for a long time. It feels good to belong to a superior culture. Vladimir Putin may not be democratically chosen, but he would not be holding his office if he did not have support from enough ordinary Russians.
I see this imperialism in so many places and times. For example, Canada is just starting to come to grips with its residential schools for First Nations people. At the time, people from the superior culture believed that they were doing the inferior culture a favor. Even today, too many from the superior culture cannot see the wrongs that were caused.
Likewise, the American mindset likes the idea that its fingers are everywhere in the world. Subtle influence is less controversial, but it still makes the superior culture feel good about itself. For example, an IMF bailout might be seen as a sign that "good" USA is helping out an "bad" nation, and yes we, the superior, have a right to set up the rules--and if that means some American corporate interests extricates profits, that is justified. With such an attitude, it should not be a surprise that we see a cascade of misadventures in geopolitical affairs.
Russians felt good about themselves when they sent their young men to watch the streets of Czechoslovakia. Americans felt good about themselves when their corporations got an advantage in inferior cultures, whether that be banana farms in Nicaragua or oilfields in Venezuela. The means are different, but psychology is the same. It's good to belong to the superior culture. Politicians have a vested interest to fuel that notion.
2. You used the acronym "IR" in this response and your Part 1. I haven't been able to find what this stands for. I should probably refrain from comment on excerpts with this term for now.
3. One of the problem with experts is that they tend to disagree often. I often feel sorry for politicians trying to the get story from the experts. And the public is also confused. We need a new understanding of how to deal with experts (and I'll leave that for another discussion).
I don't know about George Kennan. He might truly be a smart man with a good track record, or he might be a broken clock who is right twice a day. But we all can find experts to support our preconceived opinions.
I have a certain take on the expansion of NATO. While it might have been a significant irritant in the minds of average Russian citizens, the leaders of Russia have been robbing their country blind. It has been said that Vladimir Putin has $40b in offshore bank western accounts. His many syncopates have done the same. This political group has a vested interest in fanning the NATO flames of the Russian public lest the public start wondering why most of them are still living crummy lives. So my take is that NATO is just a smokescreen for something else.
How I came to this position is from reading, watching, experiencing, and thinking. If I could cite all my sources, it would be a long list. But that is where I am at. It might change five years from now.
Having said that, the west has its own kind of corruption. Although many liberals would disagree, Hunter Biden's cushy job with Burisma is hampering Joe Biden's political moves. The US interference is many other countries hurts its abilities to "do right" in today's trouble spots. There is not as much integrity as there should be.
4. I often politely admonish people not to stereotype others. In any group, there are good and not-so-good people. So when I'm reading B Kean's articles, I realize that not all Russians are of this mindset. And if the Russian media were not so controlled, many of them would have more open minds. But enough of them do belong to stereotype such that they are a political force in Russia, just like the trump base is in the USA. The question we should be asking is: how many of these people reached their position by indepedant thinking or by being manipulated? If more of the latter, then we should wonder how much we--the more rational--have been manipulated. We are all suseptible.
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One of my more memorable life events came from my neighbors in my farming community. Eberhardt and Gertrude immigrated from Germany after WW2. They wanted to farm--and there was no chance of that occupation for them in Germany. They worked hard when they got to Canada, saved money, and bought their farm. They raised some great kids and were community leaders. Nice people.
Eberhardt was a solider in the German army. He was captured and sent to a labor camp in Scotland (where he found his love for farming). Both Eberhardt and Gertrude were caught up in the Nazi Youth Movement.
After a night a playing cards and a few drinks, my parents asked them how they be such ardent Nazi followers. They could only reply: "We didn't know what was happening."
E & G were nice, thoughtful people. It is so easy to be duped.
