Monday, January 24, 2011

Russia

The bombing is clearly a horrible thing, but I don't have much to add, though I would suggest that you look at Mark Ames article on Russian stoicism.

The Russian reaction may seem cold, or even heartless, in their reaction, but consider the alternative:
As appalling as it might seem, let’s remember what America’s far more sentimental reaction to 9/11 got us: two disastrous wars, tens of thousands of deaths, and the sorts of police-state measures once thought unimaginable. The difference may be more in our sentimentality than in our brutality.
By simply soldiering on, and letting it roll off your back, it makes it much more difficult for the Terrorists to win.

1 comment:

  1. > The difference may be more in our sentimentality than in our brutality.

    No - it is self-important brutality. If the tables were turned, we would be constantly comparing our own peacefulness to Russian aggressiveness.

    Also, it is hundreds of thousands of deaths, not tens of thousands. How easy it is to drop an order of magnitude when talking about American murderousness.

    ReplyDelete