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August 18, 2008
Time to Bring Back "The Bear"
We may not have asked for it, but a Cold War of sorts seems to be upon us again. The invasion of Georgia is Vladimir Putin's coming out party - he's spent years consolidating power in Russia and this little war seems to be his way of showing the West that the bear is back.
Last week, Glenn Beck spent the last hour of his show discussing Putin's rise to power and as he recited the growing list of Putin enemies who suffered unfortunate deaths, reality struck. Russia is once again our enemy. I can't tell you how sad that makes me.
As regular readers may know, I spent a few weeks in Russia in 2003 working at a Christian youth camp. There was some frustrating culture clash, but I fell in love with the Russian people, their culture and their country. It was unexpected, given that I'm a Cold War kid who loved "Red Dawn" and thought "The Day After" was more prediction than fiction. Spending time with the Russians and actually standing in Red Square was pretty amazing. And the banya? Outstanding.
I have friends in Russia, so it's hard to see that country return to the path of totalitarianism. Still, my love for Russia has not blinded me to the evil of their current leadership and the need to confront them as they seek greater power. Putin needs to be humbled quickly, and supporting the people of Georgia and their elected representatives would achieve that goal. So would this.
Politically, John McCain could run the above ad and it would be just as relevant today as it was over 20 years ago. Barack Obama's reaction to the Georgia crisis shows just how unprepared he is to handle such situations.
Posted by slublog at August 18, 2008 10:42 PM
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Comments
Boy does that ad bring back memories.
Posted by: Anonymous at August 19, 2008 08:03 AM
Great ad, and once again timely. I'll question your description of Putin's Russia as "totalitarian." It is actually more of a threat than the old totalitarian, communist regime in that it no longer carries the baggage of promoting worldwide communist expansion or the burden of demanding ideological conformity of its own people. The Putin regime only demands that its people get in line, not that they pretend to love him. Simple authoritarianism is so much easier to manage.
Posted by: Ronsonic at August 24, 2008 11:50 AM
It's sad, but true. I too love the Russian people. They are warm and simple. But they are terrifyingly tough. As a "cold warrior" I'm glad we haven't (yet) had to fight them.
Posted by: JT Day at August 24, 2008 06:21 PM
I’d be inclined to be of the same mind with you on this. Which is not something I typically do! I really like reading a post that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing me to speak my mind!
Posted by: Werner Lenoir at December 5, 2010 10:15 PM