Last week I wrote a little about the contested election in the Ukraine, and mentioned how pro-democracy rallies were being held against the communist-friendly Russian-sponsored “winner”. Where the story gets more interesting though is when you realize that Viktor “I married an EHM” Yushchenko1 (more) is not the Ukrainian entry for democracy, but the American entry (more, more).
That is, this isn't a battle of Ukrainians fighting for control of their own nation, this is a battle of Russia and America fighting for control of this strategically critical region, each with their own potential political puppet leader — in Russian hands, it defends her borders, and in American hands, it weakens Russia's ability to exert military and economic control over resources in the region. All at the cost of the people in the Ukraine who suffer during this battle, and those of us forced to pay taxes to play this game.
Now don't get me wrong — of the two options, I'm pro-America all the way (I'm not a fan of how America behaves, but it's no secret that I'm totally behind what America theoretically represents). But at the same time, I still don't believe that forcing democracy on a people is a good idea at all. Unless people want democracy and really lust for it, they don't understand its value, and an apathetic democracy is in some ways even more dangerous than communism.
It just sucks that America can stand for all the right things, but then just keep fucking it up over and over and over… Polling shows that young people though have the right attitudes — conservative and cautious in most areas and with an eye for personal freedom. Maybe it's just a waiting game; all we have to do is “look forward” to the day the previous generation dies and politics start to swing in more friendly direction. I repeat what young people have said for ten thousand years — don't trust anyone over 30 31.
Or to put it better, skip your 31st birthday, and keep on skipping it.
I say with some certainty that the men in my family have always kept with that tradition.
Well, I bumped the programming I was supposed to do yesterday to set up UnderMars.com, so now I've got two days of work to do this afternoon before Rachel gets back!
1 His current wife, Kateryna Yushchenko-Chumachenko, is an American citizen (still) and a former US State Department official, and has been accused of being the conduit that tells Viktor how to vote in accordance with US wishes. In his defense, she is however very physically attractive and if their litter is any indication, they do it often.
