We, in America, appreciate that Czar Alexander II freed the serfs. At about the same time, we were involved in a civil war to end slavery in this country. Abraham Lincoln said it doesn’t matter what you call it, it is the same tyranny, that some work and others live off their work. The real struggle isn’t who will be the master, but whether we will be free.
Russia made yet other attempts to liberalize during the 19th Century; but, these attempts proved insufficient. While Russia made some progress, this progress was by no means sufficient. The masses of people remained rural peasants or urban poor. And, after defeat at the borders of Germany and Austria in WWI, the allure of communism was compelling.
Under communism, new forms of subjugation were brought to Russia. As many as 10 million people were sent to the Gulag, basically to be worked to death or nearly so, in slave labor camps. Everybody else lived in fear.
To show the difference between Russian thinking and American thinking, Russians think if the Poles are their slaves, they must be our slaves. No. By reason of NATO and their own resolve, the Poles aren’t anybody’s slaves. Just like Poland saved Europe from the Ottomans at Vienna in 1683, they saved Europe from the Communists in 1921. Today, with mutual defense, many people can be free.
We, in America, have flaws. But anybody who says the U.S. is similar to Russia is a Putinbot, an anti-American leftist, or simply confused. Regarding Putinbots, I can respect that it’s a paying job. Ditto those who are paid by Soros.
The Russians are a Christian and Euro based culture. They are ethnic Slavs, which are Euro.
Eastern Orthodox: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church
Slavs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavs
You go to great lengths to try to pretend you’re better than someone else.
The sad thing is that it’s not that Russia became so liberal (they moved a little bit in that direction) but that we moved in their direction towards a centralized government. It’s us today that are all about equality/equity, secular at best and outright atheist at worst, globalist (”workers of the world unite” was the commie slogan and we’re the ones pushing that crap today).
This could practically be a recruiting poster (all the different races etc) for any US government agency today, just add some women and replace the hammer and sickle with a US government agency emblem: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/342766221623847371/
The US today is a nation no different than Russia. We’re little better off economically. But, we have surrendered true freedom for security (none of the first ten amendments/Bill of Rights mean anything anymore), centralized power in our bureaucracy and capital, have elections about as real as those in Russia (even though we mock the Russians our elections are a joke too), a government share of the GDP that is about the same as Russia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_government_spending_as_percentage_of_GDP, we have side stepped the US Constitution in procedures, adopted policies and MO’s that are similar to Russia (we torture, kidnap assassinate), mass censor, mass propagandize our own public, use our intel services heavily inside our own country...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_test
But sure, we’re entirely different because it makes you feel better. (sarc)
You’re Brad Pitt. You’re a democracy, human rights and sovereignty warrior, in shining silver armor anointed by God! (sarc)
Here’s the truth and it won’t make you feel good. People are people and we Americans are able and willing to do EVERYTHING the worst Nazi’s did, the worst commies did, in fact what Saddam and Mao did.
People are inherently bad, full of sin, including you and I. What kept us straight in the past was that we had a society that had some semblance of morality (that’s gone today) and a government that was impotent (weak -confined by a US Constitution). Yes, our government did NOT have the power and ability to do these things and that’s why we were a little bit better historically. The Constitution is a document that basically confines government (no longer the case either), sets limits to it’s powers, etc. It’s not that we didn’t have the same ideas, the same type of people, willing to do the same things, it’s just when they wanted to practice Eugenics in the US we couldn’t do it quite as efficiently as the Germans did in the Holocaust: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics_in_the_United_States
“We, in America, have flaws. But anybody who says the U.S. is similar to Russia is a Putinbot, an anti-American leftist, or simply confused. Regarding Putinbots, I can respect that it’s a paying job. Ditto those who are paid by Soros.”
It would really help if all PAID Putinbot and those PAID by Soros would identify themselves. Then we can evaluate their comments as to whether they are truth, information, or PROPAGANDA?