Why the Progressive West Hates Russia.
Russia used to be the bogeyman of US moderates and conservatives right back in the day of the USSR and the cold war.
All that was needed to make it the bogeyman of the left was to flip the script. In this switch Russia had to move right; to become the new bedfellows of conservatives in a move that sought to kill two birds with one stone.
The thing is conservatives bought into this script-flip too; but the saying about the enemy of my enemy being my friend played a part as well.
How this idea that Russia had swung to the right was arrived at rested on a few factors that by themselves did not sound much but when they add together, voila; you could say plot twist.
The problem was not, and has never been with Communism; westerners were among its greatest supporters, you only have to look at those old Soviet-era conferences to see the proof of this.
They rocked up there in their thousands.
The Russian Orthodox Church
What has the Russian Orthodox Church done to tee off the west? Nothing at all: its crime is it exists.
That and Church is prefixed with Orthodox. What I mean is there is this anti-traditional animus in general; but more so when it comes to religious faith.
Then there the conspiracies theories about the Church’s huge political influence that can be traced all the way back to the Vatican; or something. And don’t forget the talk of direct ties to Vladimir Putin himself. It is convoluted stuff to be sure but of course all rubbish. And rich too coming from those who eschew conspiracies every chance they get.
The Russian Orthodox Church may be treated as a de facto state religion but so what. Russia is not the US with its no-establishment of a religion clause enshrined in its constitution.
The gist of it is the west is hard at work de-Christianising so the Russian Church is only a sore reminder that it is not the case outside of it.
Western Universal Values
This is another biggie that seems to pair up with religious faith in some respects although it might exceed it even.
Western Universal is a contradiction in terms it can’t be both; it has to be either one or the other; besides it screams imperialism.
What they mean is not the traditional values of yore; but the values of contemporary western culture. And there is the rub. You know the kind of rights nefarious NGO’s and the like always push on countries outside the west. And when they refuse to go along with bribery, yes that is what it is; there is always the threat of sanction. The good old carrot and stick approach. So yes conformity is the bottom line.
These values are; radical feminism, abortion on demand and gay slash Transgender rights. These are the glaring ones but there more.
Then there is Critical Race Theory and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Russia of course rejects all these which are a huge bugbear for progressives. This is what accounts for the out and out hostility.
Russia’s Cold War Returns?
First there were the war games in Syria between the US and Russia. Then there was the US backed Colour revolution in Ukraine followed by Putin’s annexure of Ukraine two months later.
So you can say it was a surety move on his part.
Of course too many chose not to connect the two as it would interfere with and spoil the way they were told the world works.
Then there was the 2016 US presidential election and the nonstop accusations of Russian meddling. And on it went.
The point being they used their skewed narratives to push the line that Russia had returned to the old cold war strategy. There has to be an enemy as a cover for their nonsense doesn’t there?
None of these things are necessarily right wing not that it matters. What matters is the perception they are. And perceptions have to be micro managed to have an effect.
