More is not better. Better is better. Our prejudices are too often NOT challenged but reinforced by the lies, distortions and half-truths we choose to believe and/or act upon, as well as the calculated, knowingly-on-purpose omissions/exclusions we choose to ignore. When talking to someone rather than being ‘defensive’ about your opinion or belief and trying to convince the other person to ‘buy into’ what you believe, it may be better to be ‘curious’ why the other person believes what they believe, and how they came to believe what they believe and learn something for a change, possibly something better than the ‘hollow bombast’ you are generally spewing into the faces of others.
Too often the political ‘left-leaning’ and ‘right-leaning’ news media in America rarely report what other news media organizations around the world are saying about Western foreign policy. Furthermore, Western news media rarely interviews the ‘have not’ non-elite, common working people of other countries who are most affected by Western foreign policy which causes or contributes to genocide, invasion, war, inflation, as well as the ‘demand destruction’ of the supply chain of products and services in their countries.
With the break-up of the Soviet Union (USSR) into many independent, freedom-seeking, peace-loving countries in the 1990s, the only country left in the old USSR was basically Russia. Russia emerged as the dominant power in the East and only one still possessing nuclear weapons. Subsequently, Russia warned the West in 2014 not to encourage eastern European countries, like Ukraine, to get too close politically or militarily to the European Union (EU) and the USA…but the West ignored Russia’s plea. For years the understanding had been countries bordering Russia can trade with the West so long as countries bordering Russia remained neutral and did not encroach on or threaten Russia’s sovereignty by joining NATO. Joining NATO allows countries to install ‘offensive’ nuclear weaponry which could threaten Russia. Without joining NATO and remaining neutral Russia’s neighboring countries can install ‘defensive’ military weaponry not threatening to Russia.
CNN-TV News interviewed Ukrainians during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in April 2022 and too many Ukrainians primarily blame America for Russia invading Ukraine. Moreover, in April 2022 the Ukraine government is already asking for America to pay hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild Ukraine due to the devastation Ukraine incurred from Russia’s reckless bombardment and the killing of tens of thousands of innocent civilians and the displacement of millions of innocent civilians…the men, women and children of Ukraine.
For decades America’s foreign policy has been one of negotiating and aligning with Russia against China, negotiating and aligning with China against Russia, with all 3 countries involved respecting the ‘neutrality’ and sovereignty of Eastern European countries…but all that changed in 2022. For years the U.S. and the EU had been encouraging eastern European countries, like Ukraine, to align with the West against Russia. Eventually, in 2022, this forced Russia’s hand and Russia invaded Ukraine. The U.S. subsequently slapped Russia with sanctions to try and ‘wreck’ Russia’s economy and align the free world against Russia which consequently pushed Russia and China to align with each other thus creating an ‘unholy alliance’ between Russia and China. This basically destroyed decades of Western foreign policy goals expecting all countries involved to respect the ‘neutrality’ and sovereignty of Eastern European countries which prior to 2022 was observed by all superpower nations that have nuclear weapons.
Then there is India. India sided with China in not condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. U.S. government foreign policymakers said this is because India buys military weapons from Russia so all the U.S. had to do to win over India to the USA’s side of the Russia-Ukraine War/Conflict was start selling more weaponry to India and problem solved…but not so fast.
It is typical of U.S. foreign policymakers not to communicate what is really going on, for example, like what is really going on in India’s foreign relations with Russia. And it is typical of the Western news media not to investigate what is really happening in India, which is why around the world, and in America too, most people do not trust the Western news media, Western politicians and Western foreign policymakers. For decades India has been the enemy of Pakistan and China, and Russia has always sided with India in fending off military threats from Pakistan and China against India because, for decades, Russia has not trusted Pakistan or China despite Russia and India having trade relations with Pakistan and China and vice versa. Pakistan, India, China and Russia all have nuclear weapons but now in 2022 China is siding with Russia as is India and Pakistan against the West all due to the ill-conceived foreign policy negotiations by the West with Russia, China and India preceding the Ukraine-Russia War.
Bottom line? Look around at the faces of the news reporters asking questions of politicians and policymakers. Most reporters have never experienced ‘real’ war, inflation or an unsolvable stock market crash. Then listen to the ‘talking heads’ presented to us to answer the questions from the news media, as if the ‘talking heads’ have trustworthy judgment, and what is it that you notice first from all of the parties involved? The children are in charge.
SUPPLEMENTAL SOURCES: POLITICAL SCIENTIST, “JOHN MEARSHEIMER, BLAMES U.S. FOR UKRAINE CRISIS” IN NEW YORKER MAGAZINE MARCH 2022 and ALJAZEERA NEWS FEBRUARY 2022 and FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, BARRACK OBAMA, KEYNOTE SPEECH AT THE CYBER SYMPOSIUM AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY 4/21/22 and MARC ROWAN, CEO AND FOUNDER OF APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT ON BLOOMBERG TV BUSINESS NEWS 4/23/2022