What Russia Has To Offer America
As somebody who spent my childhood during the Cold War, I am delighted that the president of America and the president of Russia are friends. I have very good reasons to think that this serves for the betterment of both countries. I write this about what Russians have to offer America.
Now the Russians do not have much to teach Americans about politics and economics; but there are many other issues on which they can influence America rightfully.
Probably the most important one is family. A former Reagan administration official once told me that Russians have much to teach Americans about family. In Russia, marriages tend to stay together even if they are troubled. Whereas in America many men skip out on their families and many women divorce for trivial or capricious reasons. These same women howl abuse about the tiniest things that happen to them while supporting vicious abuses by Muslim or inner-city men as well as abuses against women nicer and prettier than themselves. Russian women stand to put things into perspective, both for these women and for many others.
Another thing that Russians stand to do is confront the monstrosity known as political correctness. Political correctness is one of the most foolish things that have ever been tried. Not only does it fail to achieve its stated goals of respect and tolerance, but it makes them impossible. For me to actually respect or tolerate the next person I have to know their actual perspective. For me to do that they need to express to me their honest opinions, however offensive these may be. If they cannot express their honest opinions because someone may consider them offensive, then I will never know their actual perspective, which means that I will not know whether to extend to them tolerance or respect.
Instead of respect and tolerance, political correctness has accomplished this: A climate of suffocating insincerity. And it is this that the Russians are uniquely suited to address. The Russian people are rude; they are also genuine and sincere. They aren't nice, but many of them are good. Their honesty, their forthrightness and their courage stand to defeat the society of smilie-faced lies disguising snakepits. And that stands to go a long way toward improving not only American culture but also American character.
The Russians also stand to improve American womanhood. American womanhood has gone to hell as a result of the Third Wave feminism, and it is the kinder and prettier women who have suffered for it the most. The Russian women will put things into perspective, both for the women and for the men. They will show American men what they have been robbed of. And they will show American women that attitude is not the same thing as strength, nastiness is not the same thing as intelligence, and there is nothing at all incompatible between being physically attractive and being smart, being strong or having a good heart.
The Russians also stand to improve American cultural output. American culture likewise has gone to hell as a result of postmodern and avant-garde movements. Russians stand to set these people straight. Russian literature is real literature. Russian poetry is real poetry. Some of Russian songs are amazing. And Russians excel at such things as circus, theater and ballet. The Russians therefore stand to improve American culture greatly, and I, as someone who has translated five books of Russian poetry and many Russian songs into English, am honored to be a part of this.
Finally, Russians stand to end the false identification that many American people have between culture and weakness. Now maybe you may get this expression when you have been dealing too much with French people or San Franciscans, who are cultured but many of whom are wusses. But you will not get this impression if you are dealing with Russian people, who are cultured and are not wusses at all. And this may improve the reputation of culture in America, resulting in greater respect for culture. And if that creates a cultural boom such as what America had in 1920s, then that is probably the best thing that can happen in America today.
Donald Trump can very much be a help in this matter. He has commissioned some of America's most beautiful buildings, and he has a love of beauty. He is the proof that there is nothing at all contradictory between culture and strength or culture and money. There are people in culture who have a low view of business, and there are people in business who have a low view of culture. Both are wrong. The two can very well co-exist, and in 1920s - the time that saw America become the undisputed leader of the world - they did.
So now we are seeing Russians learning rightfully from Americans on how to manage business. And I am hoping to see more Americans learning rightfully from Russians on how to do family and culture. I hope that this positive symbiosis continues. And I hope that both Russia and America continue to benefit as a result.
Now the Russians do not have much to teach Americans about politics and economics; but there are many other issues on which they can influence America rightfully.
Probably the most important one is family. A former Reagan administration official once told me that Russians have much to teach Americans about family. In Russia, marriages tend to stay together even if they are troubled. Whereas in America many men skip out on their families and many women divorce for trivial or capricious reasons. These same women howl abuse about the tiniest things that happen to them while supporting vicious abuses by Muslim or inner-city men as well as abuses against women nicer and prettier than themselves. Russian women stand to put things into perspective, both for these women and for many others.
Another thing that Russians stand to do is confront the monstrosity known as political correctness. Political correctness is one of the most foolish things that have ever been tried. Not only does it fail to achieve its stated goals of respect and tolerance, but it makes them impossible. For me to actually respect or tolerate the next person I have to know their actual perspective. For me to do that they need to express to me their honest opinions, however offensive these may be. If they cannot express their honest opinions because someone may consider them offensive, then I will never know their actual perspective, which means that I will not know whether to extend to them tolerance or respect.
Instead of respect and tolerance, political correctness has accomplished this: A climate of suffocating insincerity. And it is this that the Russians are uniquely suited to address. The Russian people are rude; they are also genuine and sincere. They aren't nice, but many of them are good. Their honesty, their forthrightness and their courage stand to defeat the society of smilie-faced lies disguising snakepits. And that stands to go a long way toward improving not only American culture but also American character.
The Russians also stand to improve American womanhood. American womanhood has gone to hell as a result of the Third Wave feminism, and it is the kinder and prettier women who have suffered for it the most. The Russian women will put things into perspective, both for the women and for the men. They will show American men what they have been robbed of. And they will show American women that attitude is not the same thing as strength, nastiness is not the same thing as intelligence, and there is nothing at all incompatible between being physically attractive and being smart, being strong or having a good heart.
The Russians also stand to improve American cultural output. American culture likewise has gone to hell as a result of postmodern and avant-garde movements. Russians stand to set these people straight. Russian literature is real literature. Russian poetry is real poetry. Some of Russian songs are amazing. And Russians excel at such things as circus, theater and ballet. The Russians therefore stand to improve American culture greatly, and I, as someone who has translated five books of Russian poetry and many Russian songs into English, am honored to be a part of this.
Finally, Russians stand to end the false identification that many American people have between culture and weakness. Now maybe you may get this expression when you have been dealing too much with French people or San Franciscans, who are cultured but many of whom are wusses. But you will not get this impression if you are dealing with Russian people, who are cultured and are not wusses at all. And this may improve the reputation of culture in America, resulting in greater respect for culture. And if that creates a cultural boom such as what America had in 1920s, then that is probably the best thing that can happen in America today.
Donald Trump can very much be a help in this matter. He has commissioned some of America's most beautiful buildings, and he has a love of beauty. He is the proof that there is nothing at all contradictory between culture and strength or culture and money. There are people in culture who have a low view of business, and there are people in business who have a low view of culture. Both are wrong. The two can very well co-exist, and in 1920s - the time that saw America become the undisputed leader of the world - they did.
So now we are seeing Russians learning rightfully from Americans on how to manage business. And I am hoping to see more Americans learning rightfully from Russians on how to do family and culture. I hope that this positive symbiosis continues. And I hope that both Russia and America continue to benefit as a result.
Comments (15)
He has not!
I agree that political correctness is foolish, but it probably isn't up there with the most foolish things that have ever been tried.
You want to try and straighten out American women? Good luck with that!
Quoting Ilya B Shambat
Actually they already have improved American culture... Russian cultural émigrés have added a lot! As for postmodernism, it's not just American culture that has been infected -- it's all over the place. Avant garde culture becomes just 'culture' over time, or it fades away. All music was once new, and took some getting used to.
Cultured Wusses? Where?
Donald Trump has the taste of a second rate real estate agent.
As I recollect, it wasn't very long ago that Russia's population was in decline as a result of rampant alcoholism. It was a world-class public health disaster!
I too worry about the state of the American family. Too many divorces; too many children born to single people who can not provide the stability of the standard two-adult household; too much chaos in families; etc. However, some of this is a result of economic chaos. Does Russia have a workable solution for that?
How familiar are you with the broad American culture???
I did not know that there existed a woman with the name American Culture. Is she on this website? I searched the membership list, she ain't there. Is she a close relative of Africa, of Asia, and / or of Moon Unit Nine?
You aren't going to deny that there is such a thing as "American", "French", or "Russian" culture, are you? If you were randomly moved from one location on earth to another, how would you tell that you were in a different (or the same) country?
Some cultures are more heterogeneous than others though. And American culture would be well out on that scale. Hence your culture wars etc. Ilya's (implied) criticism seems to be of American liberalism.
I know what Hindu culture is, what Russian culture is, what Sino-Japanese culture is. I don't know them in depth but I know they exist and are unique.
But you did not say American culture. You said the broad American cultutre.
Everyone around here gets worked up so bitterly, everyone is a bit cranky around here.
This is true.
Quoting god must be atheist
Ok, ok, I get the pun.
But there is a wider American culture, and more narrow ones. The doings of the KKK below to one of the narrow cultures. Gay liberation, Planned Parenthood, Unitarianism, Jews eating Chinese food on Christmas Day, weekending in cabins "up north on the lake", etc. are all parts of narrow American cultures. Voting in November is part of the wider culture; so is eating turkey for Thanksgiving, the 4th of July, and so on.
Absolutely. America is a culturally diverse country. Its culture(s) have been shaped by immigration, landscape/geography/weather, history, tradition, discrimination, technology and a wide diversity of economical lot in life.
The culture that keeps the nation coherent are a dedication to worshipping hard work, the dollar/wealth, Christianity and libertarianism/ ultra right wing internal affairs.
To wit, Americans: your Democrats, considered too liberal and left-wing, run on a platform that in any other country in the world is considered ultra-right wing.
Hyperbole, but I get what you mean. Democrats and republicans are the only two peas in the short pod of the established Party. The actual very liberal Democrats are distinct from the actual very conservative Republicans. Their policy objectives are somewhat different. But neither party is anti-capitalist; both parties believe in a well funded military (which is a critical half of the military industrial economy). Both parties believe in global dominance. Both parties have gay and lesbian members. The Republicans have the Log Cabin gay group, the Democrats have the Stonewall gay group.
But on to something else... Russia too has a very diverse demographic, a history of turmoil which has mixed its cultures; a long period of autocratic Tzars, a shorter period of soviet authoritarian government. I suspect that the ethnic diversity of the Russian Empire works somewhat differently than the settler colonialism (so called) of European emigration to the United States.
The distance between the Sphinx and the nearest McDonald's restaurant is 200 yards, in Kiev you'll hear nothing on the radio but American pop songs, and in Bulga-Torogov, Mongolia, people go nuts over Chicklets.
For culure's sake, and I support that for only that very one reason, I applaud the fundamental Muslim countries for sticking to their thousand-year-old traditions and not budging from them. Most other cultures sold out for the almighty Buck.
This is true, but what vigorous culture hasn't stamped its footprint on the world? Going back to the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs, the Chinese, the French, the Russians, the British, the Spanish, the Japanese ... everybody that could has done that.
The American footprint is as unique as the Roman footprint, but the business of foot printing isn't unique at all. The current footprinters are pervasive because of technology. Chicklets are in vogue in Bulga-Torogov because communication and transportation can put Chicklets there. Capitalism, which isn't uniquely American, will put Chicklets on Mars, as soon as there is a market there.
Capitalism doesn't try to wipe out local cultural features or traditions, it wipes out local culture as a consequence of its urge to dominate all markets.
Yes, the loss of local cultures is lamentable -- as long as the locals are doing the lamenting. Is there any virtue in first world people lamenting the loss of tradition among third world people? (I think there is virtue in lamenting the loss of other people's cultural traditions, but only so far. If the people of Bulga-Torogov decide that electricity beats yak fat lamps, or that Mayans in Central America decide that Spanish is a more useful language than their local tongue, well... that's up to them.
As for Islamic fundamentalism, the sooner it disappears the better -- along with Christian fundamentalism and Hindu fundamentalism.