re: Here is the reality on the ground in Ukraine. FJB

quote:

---

Russia isn't free in the traditional sense. But it is a country that is governed in a way that aspires to the preservation of its own people and culture including Christianity. It's borders are closed and it's leadership is Russian and not citizens of the world and it's new order.

---

Discipline is freedom, no?


I was surprised by how normal and traditional Russia was, especially compared to the US. I didn’t know what to expect, but it seemed so improbable after 79 years of communism. How is it possible?

I think it goes back to how they see themselves and how society is structured at a basic level. It shows up in linguistics but they recognize a explicit connection to each other which you don’t see in Western societies. This example is stolen from an essay I read, but your neighbor won’t do something that will effect you, without at least talking to you about it first. It’s not that they have an Asian style communal culture, they don’t, but to hurt their neighbor is on some level to hurt themselves. Compare that to the US where every man is an island, and where we have few if any obligations to the people around us. The Russian model is going much more resilient when it comes to defending itself against culture changes that a government is trying to impose on it. The downside to our model is that our anarchic sense of liberty undermines and damages family and faith, and makes it difficult for us to act collectively to defend ourselves.

Russians may not have the personal freedom we have, but it’s because they have a sense of duty to their family, friends, and nation. And that’s what’s preserved their culture in the face of modernity.

The problem with our model, is that we could lose everything because we can’t act together to defend ourselves.