The ruling classes in the West have turned to tabloids as their megaphones, romanticizing war and fanning the flames of conflict, pushing public emotional exploitation to unprecedented levels.
What should the miserable EU politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen do? They are intensely unpopular, after 30-40 years of misruling the economy and the society in general, and need a foreign enemy to direct people's wrath at. It is an old trick. One can hope that the not-yet-formed opposition can make them seem as ridiculous as they are.
Personally, I think they will be perfectly contented with a cold war, enlivened now and then by a little hot war in the periphery (Palestine, perhaps Iran). They know fucking well that a hot war between great powers would end the human civilization. But they are stupid enough to believe they can go on with brinkmanship forever.
I share your concerns and agree that leveraging external threats to distract from internal issues is an age-old tactic that remains all too common. However, it seems to me that today, some policymakers and decision-makers are crossing all conceivable bounds — not just the bounds of decency but of reason itself (which, I realize this, is also a banal statement to make). It appears that traditional means of persuasion and propaganda have failed them, leading them to now attempt to stir up societal emotions using what they believe to be the most effective tool at their disposal: tabloids. This primitive and desperate reasoning shows a lack of long-term vision and responsibility for the consequences of such actions. We must remain vigilant and critical of such maneuvers, to avoid being drawn into unproductive and potentially dangerous narratives.
I believe tabloids were a frequent weapon also in the cold war of the 50s. So they have used it before. And found it workable.
What should the miserable EU politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen do? They are intensely unpopular, after 30-40 years of misruling the economy and the society in general, and need a foreign enemy to direct people's wrath at. It is an old trick. One can hope that the not-yet-formed opposition can make them seem as ridiculous as they are.
Personally, I think they will be perfectly contented with a cold war, enlivened now and then by a little hot war in the periphery (Palestine, perhaps Iran). They know fucking well that a hot war between great powers would end the human civilization. But they are stupid enough to believe they can go on with brinkmanship forever.
I share your concerns and agree that leveraging external threats to distract from internal issues is an age-old tactic that remains all too common. However, it seems to me that today, some policymakers and decision-makers are crossing all conceivable bounds — not just the bounds of decency but of reason itself (which, I realize this, is also a banal statement to make). It appears that traditional means of persuasion and propaganda have failed them, leading them to now attempt to stir up societal emotions using what they believe to be the most effective tool at their disposal: tabloids. This primitive and desperate reasoning shows a lack of long-term vision and responsibility for the consequences of such actions. We must remain vigilant and critical of such maneuvers, to avoid being drawn into unproductive and potentially dangerous narratives.