CAN THE WEST OVERCOME ITS PUTIN & RUSSIA PHOBIAS?

So many negative claims have been made about Vladimir Putin and the Russian state that a fabric of toxicity has been constructed around them.

The genesis of much of this can be found in the pure and precious state in which the elites of the West regard themselves.

They see themselves as epitomizing the peak of civilized values, forever displaying integrity and unassailable decency in both intent and act. They have set themselves up as the universal standard that all others must be judged by. Naturally these judges consider themselves to be of unquestioned probity. How could they demand obedience to their strictures and punishments if they themselves were in any way flawed?

These points of view have resulted in the job description western elites have provided for themselves, to act as global school masters and mistresses, lecturing, warning, threatening and punishing any errant pupils with a view to making them adhere to codes of conduct they have laid down.

Why has Putin and the Russian state caught this collective teacher’s eye and fallen foul of  its codes of conduct? The view expressed on this depends crucially on which eyes you are looking through. Through the eyes of the pure-as-driven-snow professorial elites of the West they need a touch of corporal punishment to make them mend their ways.

These elites, considering themselves the closest thing to political perfection attainable in this world see any nation not behaving as they do as an errant pupil needing a clip around the ear.

Meanwhile, anyone in these errant nations having a leader considering himself in any way a teacher like them and not acting according to the rules of the ‘central authority’ (i.e. the western elites) is seen as also requiring multiple clips around the ear.

To allow such “bad behavior” to go unpunished would be impermissible. So, such continuing “bad behavior” brings with it ever more lectures and punishments in the hope of forcing a change of attitude that is more amenable to the codes of disciple laid down from above.

This attitude of ultimate superiority, of being unassailably exceptional is so deeply ingrained and so comprehensively and inviolately held as fact that the status of global teacher is now regarded as a totally permanent and unquestioned institution. It is an institution that cannot possibly tolerate its probity to be questioned. Not by anyone and particularly not within its own sacrosanct offices.

The irritation and frustration, amounting at times to outright rage of the global teachers regarding pupils who constantly refuse to obey and whose behavior shows no signs of coming into line with “acceptable standards” knows no bounds. How dare they flout their resistance to authority!

This is the locked-tight reality of those in the upper echelons of the western political establishment. To question the foundations of this reality would be to risk descending to the level of all others. This is completely unthinkable to them. How would the school survive if there were no entities enforcing discipline on the naughty pupils? It would surely descend into anarchy. The teachers clearly believe this to be the case. However, what is also the case but which they have no incentive to inspect is that to relinquish their position would significantly diminish the present status which they find very conducive to their own personal needs.

With a patrician view like this and the added incentive of all the positives associated with being the self-awarded highest authority you can see that extending a hand of cooperation to those you consider lesser, imperfect and annoyingly rebellious mortals will never prove easy.

Western elites want things done their way globally. They clearly consider this important, indeed imperative. Imperative for the USA at least, not so much for Europe. The elites of the USA have the specter of 9/11 in their minds at all times, whether on a conscious or subconscious level. Controlling every class in the entire school 100% of the time is their unquestioned but unattainable goal. They will find that goal to ultimately be totally impossible to achieve... but they will continue their attempts to the absolute end point come what may, without deviation, diplomacy and quite independent of all destructive forces unleashed along the way.

The existing, unrecognized teachers of errant nations cannot possibly be given anything approaching the kind of status the school authorities have. Any attempt to appear cooperative or inclined to reach some settlement with the authorities will be seen as a trick, a ploy, some maneuver designed to allow an upgrade to his status, something that cannot be allowed without total agreement to the full demands required of him.

Those who express loyalty to such unrecognized teachers of errant nations are regarded in the same way, as suspect, bad actors, naughty schoolboys who create disorder in the school and cause frustration and irritation among the masters.

So, to answer the question at the head of this commentary, no, it appears impossible for the West to overcome its Putin and Russia phobias.

Not until they submit to the punishments inflicted on them, repent their past actions in full and promise faithfully to comprehensively obey the codes laid down by the self-awarded global masters in future.