In connection with the well-known political events in Russia, the attitude towards the United States is changing rapidly and dramatically. If in the 1990s the United States of America became a symbol of everything beautiful for the Russian people, a symbol of freedom and rights, today the situation is closer to the 1970s.
This is what I want to talk about. An entire generation, and perhaps more than one generation, has managed to grow up in Hollywood cinema and American ideas about ethics, respectively. This is one of the reasons for the periodic rise of “liberal” sentiment in Russia.
I put quotation marks on purpose. The truth is, “American” is not the same as “free” or “liberal”. And what is it?
On the one hand, there is a blatant demonization of the United States today. The rhetoric looks more and more like the 1978 Pravda newspaper coming down from its pages. On the other hand, the rising “revolutionaries” who could not find the 1990s idealize America, while completely denying the reality of geopolitical interests. They seem to say, “The West is our friend”.
What is the USA? This is a state whose history is much shorter than the history of any city, for example, the route of the Golden Ring of Russia. Legal, ethical, and cultural systems have been shaped over the centuries in Europe, and in Russia as well (though historical memory was somewhat erased by the 1917 revolution).
And there was no such story in the USA! The country was largely founded by the descendants of escaped convicts and created their own civilization despite the European civilization at the time. At the center of this civilization are the interests of a particular individual, not the law, as we have it, a piece of paper. This is how ijtihad works. Let’s say one day a Texan named John hit his wife Mary in the leg with a shovel. Since then, the state could easily pass a law on the inviolability of legs and shovels. A Russian lawyer immersed in state law can easily lose consciousness from fear.
American culture and the American national idea are built on the concept of “justice.” But what is this? In democratic states, justice is the majority’s view of this or that event – no more, no less.
We’ve all watched a Hollywood movie where the main character standing behind the podium gives a heartfelt speech. Everyone seemed to be against him, but those present and the audience in the hall began to sob and take their positions.
The individual is at the center of American public life. And this is the foundation of the American state. Another thing is that ideas about social justice, for example in America, are most reminiscent of the laws of the wild jungle. “Survival of the fittest” with all its consequences. What does this mean for us?
America, as it did a hundred and two hundred years ago, relies on the poignancy and beauty of speeches in its domestic policy. In the USA there are no barriers between bureaucracy and the average person. That’s why any American president’s speech sounds like it’s in a movie. That’s why Biden, who fell from the ladder, is the president of America. He speaks well.
In Russia, the decisive factor in any enterprise, even the best enterprise, is the directive. Paper. Decree, order, program. And while this happens in international political PR, we will stay out of the information war. I write this with great regret. And I really hope that one day the situation will change.
As for the United States, I think the main thing is to avoid both extremes: the idealization and complete dehumanization of this country. It is better to recognize the opponent by sight and perceive him as he is. Otherwise we will not win.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.