2013-06-11

Russia Rising

During the Cold War, as much as the U.S. and S.U. were enemies, they were also both from the same side of the political spectrum: the left. Though the U.S. harbored a lot of right-wing sentiment, by the 2000s it was clear that the Bush Administration's push for worldwide democratic revolution, continued under Obama in Libya and elsewhere, was only different from the Soviet example by degree. It was a major difference to be sure, but the Soviets fought right-wing opposition in America by supporting leftist ideology. Similarly, the U.S. sought to undermine the Soviet Union in Europe with modern art: Modern art was CIA 'weapon'
The connection is improbable. This was a period, in the 1950s and 1960s, when the great majority of Americans disliked or even despised modern art - President Truman summed up the popular view when he said: "If that's art, then I'm a Hottentot." As for the artists themselves, many were ex- com- munists barely acceptable in the America of the McCarthyite era, and certainly not the sort of people normally likely to receive US government backing.

Why did the CIA support them? Because in the propaganda war with the Soviet Union, this new artistic movement could be held up as proof of the creativity, the intellectual freedom, and the cultural power of the US. Russian art, strapped into the communist ideological straitjacket, could not compete.
What is interesting today is, the Russians are now moving solidly to the right. Where conflict was ideological and political during the Cold War, in the future it is more likely to be cultural. Instead of allying with leftist college professors in America, influence is more likely to flow through churches.

Russia set to pass strict anti-gay law that could see foreigners deported for 'sexual propaganda'
A number of regions have already adopted a similar law, and now MPs from President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party want to implement a nationwide ban on “gay propaganda”.

The law defines the rather nebulous concept as “spreading information aimed at forming non- traditional sexual behaviour among children, suggesting this behaviour is attractive, and making a false statement about the socially equal nature of traditional and non-traditional relationships”.
This is compelling because most people look at this on the surface and see some authoritarian tendencies and cynical political maneuvering by Putin. And both may be the case, but there's a kernel of truth the makes the authoritarianism and cynicism popular. If we look at history, homosexuality tends to peak with a civilization. On the cultural front, one of the best signs of a major peak in social mood is the gay marriage issue, and the Russians are lining up for the coming bull rally in traditional culture. As the foremost purveyor of peak social mood morals and culture, the U.S. is very exposed to a drop in social mood along the cultural vector. The Russians don't have to do much except get out front of the coming anti-American sentiment that will be focused on issues such as gay marriage, single motherhood, feminism and promiscuity. They are preparing for a battle and a multi-decade to multi-century trend that the U.S. government is wholly unprepared for.

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