[LA Weekly Blog, United States]
Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russia
'Reset' Requires Russians to Understand Americans
"The
inadequacy of our perceptions of them are obvious. … Setting aside diplomatic
pleasantries, we can say that this is the IMAGE OF AN ENEMY. A
very dear, well-respected enemy."
By Leonid Radzihovskiy*
Translated By
Yekaterina Blinova
July 7, 2009
Russia - Rossijskaya Gazeta - Original
Article (Russian)
People don't communicate with
other people. They communicate with THEIR CONCEPTIONS of their partners. Almost
all misfortunes arise out of a LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF PARTNERS. We imagine
them as "inadequate" - see false motifs, expect certain types of
action when completely different actions are taking place - we protect
ourselves from pseudo-threats and miss the real ones.
The psychological crash
course presented here is directly related to our relations with the United
States. There will be no "perezagruzka [reset]" until we
UNDERSTAND one another somewhat better.
"To understand is to
forgive." Frequently, but not always! Moreover, this doesn’t mean "to
love" or to be "dear to one’s heart." You may understand and say
"go to hell," but at least you would be sending the other in the
RIGHT DIRECTION (although I hope this in no way describes Russian-American
relations).
In any case, whether we like
them (and whether they improve relations or not), we (and they) need ADEQUACY. First of all - adequacy of mutual understanding, understanding of motives
and adequacy of predicting the possible actions of our partner. I won't
discuss the inadequacy of American perceptions of the "mysterious Russian
soul." Let American scholars talk about this among themselves.
But
the inadequacy of our perceptions of them are, in my opinion, obvious.
By "our perception,"
I mean the MASS conceptions of the United States, its goals and its actions.
These conceptions are, as always, a complex salad of OUR OWN LATENT DESIRES ("the
one who teases is the one at fault"), fears, and attempts to process incomplete
information distorted in advance, etc. These mass perceptions are formed, of
course - very deliberately! - by the media. But the
issue isn't just the brainwashing. Most members of our elite, as far as I can
tell, very GENUINELY see the United States just about the same way they portray
it on TV.
Setting
aside diplomatic pleasantries, we can say that this is the IMAGE OF AN ENEMY. A
very dear, well-respected enemy. And, well - an enemy is an
enemy… But the problem is that this image is INADEQUATE. I'm not a fan of the United
States. I'm a humble admirer of common sense, open eyes, facts and logic.
Here’s the latest, characteristic example.
In Iraq, the first round of
oil and natural gas development license auctioning has just taken place. The
bidding was won by a consortia of British and Chinese companies. The
conditions of tender put forth by the government of occupied Iraq were so harsh
that, according to the views of frustrated international experts, "Today we've seen
that the Iraqi Oil Ministry and
international
oil companies are living on different planets."
I wrote about this on the Echo of Moscow radio
station Web site, adding that all the oil in Iraq today - as it was before and
under Saddam - is owned by the Republic of Iraq and is extracted by the
country's state oil companies. Which means, American
companies haven't received this oil - not as property, not under a lease and not
for development. And I posed a question - WHAT WAS THE UNITED STATES
FIGHTING FOR?! As expected, the question left radio listeners stumped.
In other words, they (as I
suppose 90 percent of our country’s population - and not just our country’s!),
without thinking too hard or being too interested in the facts, were absolutely
convinced that the imperialistic war of the United States was mass murder for
the sake of stealing oil. A peculiar mix of Pizarro and Hitler …
BAM! FLY SAYS: WHY! AM I YOUR
FAN!!!
[Novosti, Russia]
Such actions stem directly
from the GENERAL IMAGE of America - SELF-PROCLAIMED World Policeman and cruel
predator trying to CAPTURE (control) all world raw materials and transport corridors
(first and foremost they wish to capture OUR resources). In
short - a predator aiming for World Domination.
What SUCH an image of the
United States breeds in the minds of people is quite understandable!
But to put it
mildly - this is not a completely realistic image. Let's agree: The United
States is the World Policeman (WP). And let us add: a RAPIDLY WEAKENING WP.
What is a WP? First of all - an INCAPABLE COP on a global
scale.
As
was said in the well-known film [Gentlemen of Fortune]:
"Stealing Alexander the Great's helmet is not picking
pockets!"
And it’s true. The World
Policeman doesn't pick the pockets of "drunk presidents," doesn't rob
the gas stations of others and doesn’t deprive people of political rights for a
price. He doesn't live by the principle of, "WHAT I GUARD IS MINE." But
it is precisely this that is persistently ASCRIBED to it by our patriots - they
don't understand how it could be otherwise.
But
the thing is, it precisely CANNOT be otherwise!
If the WP did this, it
wouldn't last long in this role, at least not through the decades (since 1945),
and in an environment of open criticism outside as well as inside the U.S. at
that.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
The function of the WP is not
to rob with impunity, but to the extent possible, to prevent others from doing
so. The function of the WP, although it is truly SELF PROCLAIMED, is not to
capture, suppress and dictate its own will, but to ENSURE OBSERVANCE OF CERTAIN
COMMON RULES of the WORLD'S political game. And when
possible, to correct the situation with the help of soft power.
The permitted rules of the
game include wherever possible, open, competitive market-based rules for society.
The United States is confident that such a GLOBAL BALANCE is TO ITS ADVANTAGE.
They believe that in a globally- open world, with honest adherence to rules of
the game FAMILIAR TO THEM, America will be the champion. Perhaps they're sorely
mistaken. After all, eternal champions don’t exist. Many are sure that the sand
in the U.S. hourglass is running out before our very eyes. But America, it
seems, doesn't think so.
That's why they try to maintain this order.
No
one likes policemen - they aren't prostitutes who must be liked by all.
When they meddle in the
affairs of others, they are HATED: they are involved in ALL THE WARS in the
world for the past 30 years. (The fact that they may also be involved with the
ABSENCE AND PREVENTION OF OTHER WARS is appreciated by no one - how does one
value something that IS NOT!)
Of
course, I have described an ideal situation.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
The United States is far from
an angel. It completely violates its own rules all the time ("he's a son
of a bitch, but he's OUR son of a bitch"). There is pride in their
policies, the most blatant mistakes, and greed personified by some corporate
groups.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland:
At Kremlin, Mr. Obama Keeps Faith with Allies
Rzeczpospolita, Poland:
At Kremlin, Mr. Obama Keeps Faith with Allies
Rzeczpospolita, Poland:
Obama's Russia 'Gambit'
Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran:
Obama's Trip: 'How they Laughed in Moscow'
Gazeta, Russia:
Medvedev and Obama: 'Resetting' U.S.-Russia Ties Won't Come Easy
Gazeta, Russia:
The Kremlin Balanced 'Between Two Chairs': Iran's and the West's
Gazeta, Russia:
Anti-Americanism for Russian Public Consumption Only
Gazeta, Russia:
Beyond Capitalism and Communism
Novosti, Russia:
Why Medvedev Can Meet Ahmadinejad - But Obama Cannot
Izvestia, Russia:
Russia Can Help Obama With Muslims
Izvestia, Russia:
'Overloaded' With U.S. English as the Language of Diplomacy
But let’s be fair - "progress"
is not an empty word! And the fact that in the past 20 to 30 years, a more
humanitarian world has been created than at any time before should be credited,
not in the least, to that same WP. And their contribution to global scientific
and technological progress is beyond question …
Incidentally, one advantage
of the U.S. is that it isn't frightened about creating competition for itself -
even among territories they OCCUPY (Japan, Germany). Not only do they not take
over the property of others, they allow the FOREIGN economies to rise sharply.
Is this in the interest of
the United States? Tactically, no. But strategically,
they think - YES. And they act strategically.
The
people of the United States are not altruists.
They are, undoubtedly, EGOISTSIC, although with elements of IDEALISM, "to ours
and your freedom!" But in any case, they are RATIONAL EGOISTS.
It seems to me that such an
understanding of the role and self image of the United States is far more
adequate than a conception of them as classic imperialist predators.
But living with classical notions
is easier. And talking (war) with such an image of the "enemy" is
easier, too.
*Leonid Radzihovskiy is a
political scientist
CLICK HERE FOR RUSSIAN VERSION
[Posted by
WORLDMEETS.US July 9, 8:28pm]
