Look Who’s Talking
July 13th, 2006 by Wyatt
Drudge caught this article at ABC news by Claire Shipman about Mikhail Gorbachev’s opinion of the United States and current state of geopolitics. There are so many things wrong with it, I just had to take the opportunity to deconstruct it. It’s a great example of what’s wrong with the MSM and what’s wrong with people who hate the USA.
It starts like this:
July 12, 2006 — Mikhail Gorbachev is generally regarded as the man who broke down the “iron curtain” that separated the communist world from the West and thawed the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.
“Generally regarded”? Only by those who choose to ignore history. Gorbachev had to make concessions because he knew he was beaten. They couldn’t keep up with the military technology of the US and he couldn’t convince Reagan to make unilateral giveaways. He was stuck and had no choice. He certainly wouldn’t have done any of it if he didn’t have to.
“We have made some mistakes,” he said, referring to recent attacks on Russia’s democracy. “So what? Please don’t put even more obstacles in our way. Do you really think you are smarter than we are?”
Um, yes. I do. You felt that Communism was an acceptable form of government and participated in that system for years. If you really thought it was the right way to govern a country, I do think I’m smarter than you. Next question.
“Americans have a severe disease — worse than AIDS. It’s called the winner’s complex,” he said. “You want an American style-democracy here. That will not work.”
That’s not a complex, Mikhail. That’s called sharing the winning formula. Our formula is not perfect, but it’s working better than any other government in the world. We’re not imposing, we’re letting you in on the secret to our success. By the way, it is our prerogative to choose our business partners. If we don’t like the changes you are making, we don’t have to work with you. We aren’t obligated to.
The article goes on to explain how even though he’s an advisor to President Putin, Gorbachev isn’t completely happy with how Putin is running Russia, either. The article wraps up with some warm fuzzies that are worth a belly laugh:
“I want my grandchildren to live in a democratic country — in a peaceful world,” he said. “But it’s hard to imagine because there are so many answers we still need to find.”
Again, let us not forget who this man was. He had to spend years moving up the ranks in the Communist party to even get a shot at being the man in charge. He, at the very least, had been claiming faith in Communism for most of his life. To now claim that he wants his grandchildren to live in a democracy means one of two things. Either he has radically changed his political beliefs or he’s lying. In either case, how does this make him an authority on how Americans should feel about themselves or their form of government?
Thanks for your thoughts. Please go away now.
July 17th, 2006 at 9:53 am
I agree…. Our form of government hasa been around for a long time, 200+ years. It still isn’t perfect, but it works. I could sit and piuck at it till it bleeds and prove nothing.
Communism showed that it could not work on any scale. China and Cuba have managed to keep there’s going by sheer force of will. China is slowly becoming more capitalistic by the day through trade. Cuba is isolated and will fall when Castro dies. Gorbachev knows we have the best system out there. Trying to make it sound like you have a plan is funny. As in America, if you don’t like try and fix it. They might try to do the same.