Is the West
demonizing Russia unfairly? [The
Telegraph, U.K.]
Kommersant, Russia
Do Americans
Really Want to 'Keep Russia on its Knees?'
"When
we hear that the real objective of America and the West as a whole is to pull
Russia down and keep it on its knees, how should we interpret this? Is it a
cynical lie put forward for some sinister political purpose - perhaps to mobilize
society by tried and try methods to create the image of an enemy?"
By Mikhail Taratuta*
Translated By Igor Medvedev
March 24, 2008
Kommersant - Russia - Original
Article (Russian)
Sociologists, psychologists and psychiatrists make
reference to a notion called a "second reality." This isn't reality
itself, but rather a person's perception of reality. Thirty years ago when I
first went to America, I was confident that I would find all the signs of a
decaying West as detailed in the Soviet press - unemployment, the suffering of working
people, and so on. Although this "second reality" had nothing to do
with what I saw with my own eyes, the Soviet-invented reality still seemed real
enough. It probably couldn't be any other way. The Soviet people knew beyond
doubt that Aeroflot was a great airline; that we had the best cement and building
materials in the world; and that America was our enemy.
Indeed, we
were American's enemy. Christened the "Evil Empire," Ronald Reagan considered
the USSR a human swamp, swallowing up our own people and everybody else's. In
America in those days, they were terribly afraid of us; they expected the worst
from us and were building bomb shelters across the country, along with setting
up forests of missiles.
America,
meanwhile - President Reagan included - was also captive to a "second
reality." Reagan believed in the idea of "Star Wars" and boasted
of his brainchild, convinced that thanks to the unbending will of the Soviet
Union, the USSR would be pushed to the point of no return. But reality proved entirely different. The Soviet Union was
pulled down under its own weight - not through the efforts of President Reagan.
His trillions of cosmic defense dollars ended up shooting
blanks.
Meanwhile,
late in the period of Perestroika [openness] and the Reagan era, I came to work
in America for an extended period. It was dramatically different from the time
when Reagan delivered his speech on the "evil empire." Hostility and
fear toward Soviet Russia had given way to a benevolent curiosity. America
trusted Gorbachev, and for us journalists from Moscow - it was a golden age. We
bathed in the glory of the Soviet President and all doors were open to us.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Since
then, much has changed. To America, today's Russia isn't the "Evil Empire,"
but neither is it a country that attracts the sincere interest that I once witnessed.
Russia is no longer something to particularly celebrate, and America now treats
us with cold pragmatism. We never become an ally of the United States, much
less a friend. But we have become indispensable partners. And partners aren't
enemies. Enemies are either destroyed or defended against.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
I speak
of enemies because there's one thing I cannot understand. When we hear that the
real objective of America and the West as a whole is to pull Russia down and keep
it on its knees, how should we interpret this? Is it a cynical lie put forward
for some sinister political purpose - perhaps to mobilize society by tried and
try methods to create the image of an enemy? Or are these the sincere words of
people living in a "second reality," where we already visited once
upon a time?
*Mikhail Taratuta was host
of the television program America
with Mikhail Taratuta from 1988-1999
CLICK HERE FOR RUSSIAN
VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US March
24, 9:57am]
