Walls Or Roads? - How Our Judgements Judge Us.

Cathy McAteer in Russia

Just before Christmas at our local U3A meeting (“University of the Third Age” – a national voluntary organisation aimed at providing educational opportunities for what we might loosely call “senior citizens”) we enjoyed a talk from a visiting speaker as we do once a month. On this occasion the talk was a little special for my wife Pat and I as the speaker, Cathy McAteer, was well known to us. I had taught Cathy as an 11 year old and she was a good friend of my daughter when they were both at secondary school. In addition they are both cellists and had had the same teacher many years ago. It was quite a strange feeling to sit in the hall listening to this highly talented young woman who I had once taught as a child and was now “teaching” us “senior citizens”.

Cathy is a gifted speaker and an expert on Russia. She works for the University of Bristol, translates Russian and has spent much time in that vast country. Her talk on that chilly pre-Christmas day was on Russian Christmas traditions and she kept us hugely entertained with her anecdotes, information and ability to keep an audience enthralled. It was in fact the second occasion that she had visited our group to tell us about Russia - the first occasion being a few months previously when she delved into great treasure trove of Russian history and teased out its important threads to explain and underscore what it is that drives the people and government of that hugely complex, and what can often seem to us, forbidding country.

I have been thinking much in recent days about those two wonderful afternoons listening to Cathy’s enthusiastic description of Russia and the Russians, as we in the UK have been preoccupied with the “fall out” from the assassination attempt on the two Russian émigrés in Salisbury - and the inevitable accusations aimed at Russia and, in particular, President Putin that have poured from the British government and the populist media.

Goebbels - who knew all about moulding public opinion

Now let me preface this blog (rant?) by saying that I do not in any way wish to suggest that the British government is factually incorrect in the various accusations that they are making about this event. Nor am I, in any way, defending or suggesting that Putin is innocent. I simply don’t know. And, as far as I can see that is the first problem;  in the world of high politics, realpolitik, diplomatic language, smoke and mirrors political intrigue, right and left wing propaganda, modern social media, “fake news” and the rest it is, I would suggest, virtually impossible for most of us to have a sustainable opinion – we simply don’t know. Of course, the British government will plead, like their Russian counterparts, that they are telling the truth; but then, I think it is fair to say so did Joseph Goebbels Hitler’s propaganda chief. Goebbels was a master at moulding public opinion in Nazi Germany and ever ready to offer advice on the matter: “Truth is the greatest enemy of the State..... Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play..... Not every item of news should be published. Rather must those who control news policies endeavour to make every item of news serve a certain purpose” Goebbels famously advised at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. He went on:  “There’s no point in seeking to convert the intellectuals. For intellectuals think, question, and demand facts, they would never be converted. Always aim at the unthinking man in the street.... Arguments must therefore be crude, clear and forcible, and appeal to emotions and instincts of the simple minded, not the intellect......Truth is unimportant and entirely subordinate to tactics and psychology..... .Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will”. As I read this I cannot escape the conclusion that whatever the guilt or innocence of President Putin and Russia in this latest spat between our two nations, Boris Johnson, our esteemed (!)  Foreign Secretary and Theresa May our accident prone PM are pretty much following the Goebbels "Teach Yourself Handbook" on "Manipulating Public Opinion" -  and are doing this by simply making “crude, clear, forcible” comments, “appealing to the emotions” and the “unthinking” - being at best, economic with the truth as they try to mould our thinking about the Russians and Putin.

Leader of the Evil Empire or defender of his country?
- depends on where you sit

We live today in a world where scientific evidence and empirical results are the gold standard; "God cannot exist because we cannot prove it" cries the atheist, we rely on scientific evidence more than ever before to convict the murderer, we talk of “forensic analysis or debate” as if it had always been part of our vocabulary, we castigated the Tony Blair government because he allegedly tampered with the “evidence” about weapons of mass destruction in the invasion plans for Iraq; in short, we in the west have become like so many “doubting Thomas’ “ – unwilling to believe in Christ’s resurrection unless we can press our fingers into his wounds.  Evidence is all. So, when Theresa May accuses President Putin of being behind the assassination attempt, and yet she cannot, or is unwilling to, provide me with categorical, indisputable evidence to support her claims I am, to say the least, unimpressed. In the various accusations that have been made in the past week or two, the strongest "proof"  seems to have been that is “highly likely” that President Putin and Russia are at the root of the assassination attack. Well, I’m not a barrister but my understanding is that “highly likely” would probably be insufficient to convict the murderer in a court of law where the bar is set rather higher - “beyond all reasonable doubt” – being the usual criteria for conviction. But equally, when Putin replies, “that’s nonsense, I was not involved” I am similarly wary; like the prisoner in the dock he needs to provide conclusive “proof” that he was not at the scene of the crime. Until we get these certainties we simply don’t know and must, therefore, hold our judgements rather than make unsubstantiated accusations.

But, while calm and cool evidence is not being provided by either side, the populace of the UK is being whipped up into a nationalistic frenzy by our political masters. If Goebbels were still alive today I suspect he would survey the UK government “outrage” and the anti-Russian bile of the frenzied populist right wing press with a grim satisfaction; "keep the message simple, appeal to the emotions not the intellect, aim at the unthinking, truth is unimportant, think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play"..........Goebbels, I am sure would recognise the tactic whether it is from Whitehall or the Kremlin; the lessons of his "handbook" have been learned in the corridors of power of 21st century Britain.

Boris Johnson our inept and despicable Foreign Secretary 
unforgivably accuses Russia of Nazi tendencies

I cannot speak for President Putin or the Russian people, but I can legitimately have an opinion on our own elected representatives; and the current dispute gives me serious cause for concern as to their fitness for office. As our illustrious, tin pot, embarrassing but thoroughly unpleasant and dangerous Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson pours petrol on the tinder box that has developed after the "attack" in Salisbury our PM has been busy asking other European leaders to support the UK and send home Russian diplomats. None have yet taken that step and the strongest condemnation that they have come up with is that Russia is “highly likely” to be at the root of the attack.  They are perhaps taking (as usual) a wiser, more thoughtful viewpoint, seeing the bigger picture rather than the “bull in a china shop” divisive policies that we in the UK seem increasingly to adopt. As a nation we have voted to cut ourselves off from our nearest neighbours by leaving the EU – and, in the process, have been decidedly ungracious to our friends across the Channel. Across the Atlantic we have a President who is keen to pick a fight with anyone he chooses on any given day of the week and to build walls - real, political or economic - between his nation and others. Across the rest of the world we have countries in the middle east in a never ending spiral of hate and mistrust and running through the whole scenario we have what we in the west euphemistically call "the war on terror" - which no matter how one dresses it up has, at its roots, a simple dislike and mistrust of our fellow human beings - in short, anyone who does not comply with our (western or British) view of reality.

From where I sit it seems that we British in particular and the west in general are happily tearing up the cooperation and trust that has been built since 1945 - we have forgotten why institutions like the United Nations and the EU were so desperately needed half a century ago. The world is on a crash course of self destruction and hatred of our fellow humans – and we in the UK, ably abetted by Donald Trump, are ramping up the volume, stirring the geo-political pot, fomenting disharmony and division. This latest imbroglio with Russia is just another step along the way to destroying the goodwill that has been patiently and painstakingly built up over the past half century.

As we career along behind Johnson and May, the mob's cheer leaders stoking up the fires of hatred, Johnson suggests that the Russian position in relation to the upcoming football World Cup is akin to Hitler's manipulation of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. What a great, simple, crude "one liner" for the populist press to blast from their front pages: Goebbels would have been delighted with that one! The Russian Ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, was perfectly correct to respond by describing Johnson's comments as “unacceptable”; Russia lost almost 26 million of its civilian and military population fighting Nazism (think about that - it's about half the total current population of England) - in the same conflict Britain lost almost exactly half a million. Consider those figures: the UK lost less than 0.1 of its total population in the fight against Hitler, Russia in comparison lost almost 15% of hers. So, just maybe, Boris Johnson should have thought before making such a heinous and unpleasant accusation against a country that gave so much to help defeat Nazism. But, of course, that's the problem, the cheer leaders of mobs rarely, if ever, think before opening their mouths and for Johnson in particular, a few moments of quite reflection before putting in his two pennyworth is an unknown phenomena. 

A nice lampooning of Theresa May

But, back to the wonderful talks given to our U3A by Cathy McAteer. She told us many things about Russia and the Russians and one stands out in my memory and which I have thought of much in recent days. In reviewing the rich and sometimes turbulent tapestry of Russian history she commented that hard wired into the minds of many – or even most - Russians is the desire for a strong leader – someone who will “protect” and stand firm for “Mother Russia”. This vast country which takes in so many time zones and so many physically demanding geographical areas: from the arctic wastelands of Siberia to the Steppe; so many varying cultures ranging from the European like extreme west of Russia to the oriental and Mongol areas of the far east, from the nomadic Arctic north, to the Muslim areas of the south; so many religious and political ideals - from Communist atheism, to devout Orthodox Christianity, to Islam; from ideas of democracy, to longings for a return to Communist dictatorship, to the lands and ancient war lord cultures of Genghis Kahn and the Mongols. Russia has a history that has always been subject to cultural, political and religious strains and extremes. The result has been a glorious and rich tapestry but a tapestry characterised by political ferment – Ivan the Terrible, Catherine the Great, Stalin, Lenin, the Russian Revolution – and often external threats; most notably the Second World War. In 1942/43 the Battle of Stalingrad was the undoubted turning point of the Second World War when over a million Russians died in this single battle, but in doing so halted Hitler’s advance and in turn ensured that the Allies, the UK, America and the rest could defeat Hitler’s seriously wounded armies. Just over a century before it was the Russians again who humbled the mighty Napoleon  as he attacked their country: after Napoleon’s defeat and the destruction of  La Grande Armée in wastes of the Russian winter of 1812 it was only a matter of time before he could be finally defeated at Waterloo by the Duke of Wellington. Given the history, geography and cultural composition of Russia we would be wise not to misinterpret or criticise this desire for ordinary Russians to perhaps favour a strong leader. The briefest review of world history will soon show that great empires – be they the Greek, the Roman, the British or any other  have only been able to flourish under strong leadership for only strong leaders can hold in check the many strains – cultural, religious, economic and political – that characterise such entities. It may well be, I would suggest, that Russians  recognise the less attractive features  of President Putin’s leadership but, more importantly, they also know that given their history, their geography, the cultural mix of their nation and the national psyche it is also the way things have to be. 

In this morning’s Guardian a correspondent makes very much the same point:  “....I am increasingly dismayed by the jingoistic responses to the Salisbury attacks from the government and especially from the foreign secretary.  Most people in Britain do not seem to understand the historic nervousness of Russians to being encircled and invaded. Russians remember the second world war well, and the millions who died. For Boris Johnson to compare Putin to Hitler is about as foul an insult as anyone could devise. Theresa May’s talk about a new cold war serves no one’s interests apart from her own, and possibly those of MI6 and the armed forces”.  Quite so. We might not have any great affection for President Putin, we might be pushed to believe everything he says but making the sort of comments that Johnson and May have been making of late shows either a total lack of understanding of the Russian people and their mindset or a calculated assault on the legitimate the political leadership and wishes of the Russian people. In my view it also casts doubts upon the efficacy and understanding of our own foreign office and diplomatic service and their ability to "read" the messages and thoughts coming out of Moscow and the Russia of the 21st century. Diplomacy and international relations is as much about nuance and reading between the lines as it is about facts and I seriously wonder, when I listen to Boris Johnson's crude outburst on the whole range of subjects for which he has responsibility as Foreign Secretary - from Russia, to Trump, to Brexit, to Europe, to the Middle East and all points in between -  whether he and the Foreign Office have grasped this fundamental requirement of 21st century diplomacy and power politics.

Good advice, I think.

There are undeniably many criticism and adverse comments one might make about Russia and the Russians – like all nations they have their strengths, weaknesses, proud histories and dark pasts – but to make the comments that Boris Johnson and Theresa May have been making is quite out of order: inflammatory and unthinking it is at the same time calculated and devious; no more no less. Hermann Göring, another of Hitler’s henchmen, confessed at the Nuremberg trials in 1946   “Why, of course, the people don't want war......... Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.......the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country”.  Sadly, Göring was not wrong and sadly, what we have seen coming out of Downing Street in recent days, is for me, a blatant manifestation of what Göring was describing. And the worrying thing is that it is all lapped up by the unthinking, the simple minded, the unquestioning, the emotional, and  the allegedly “patriotic” who stupidly believe that fortress England can do no wrong while the rest of the world - be it the EU or Putin - is “out to get us”. And of course, following the thoughts  of Göring and Goebbels, would I be too much of a conspiracy theorist to think that this vilification of Russia arising from the alleged "assassination attempt" in Salisbury is just maybe a smoke and mirrors political game, fake news, realpolitik -  a crude  attempt by the British government to deflect public opinion from the disaster that is Brexit? Would I be too far off the mark to think that its a prime example of what Goebbels and Göring meant when they said "All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger" and "Think of the press as a great keyboard on which the government can play..... those who control news policies endeavour to make every item of news serve a certain purpose” . Well, of course I'm wrong, we British are all jolly decent chaps - aren't we? We would never stoop to the depths to which these dreadful Johnny Foreigners would stoop, would we? And yet........and yet......I wonder.

This morning's Guardian take on the demonization of Putin & Russia.  Theresa May and other EU leaders ( plus the snake like UKIP politician Nigel Farage) show their scornfor the strong man Putin- but the Guardian,  rightly, asks "What's wrong with peace, love and understanding?

This mad rush to stoke up anti-Russian feeling is another extension of what the west in general and we in the England in particular have become masters of – the vilification of all who are different from oursleves. At the moment it is anti-Russian propaganda that fills our tabloids and Parliament – but we have also seen, and continue to see, anti-Muslim, or anti Polish, anti-black, or anti-any-other group, nation or religion that we simply dislike vilified on the front pages of the tabloids. We read that these groups, who we perceive as threats to our “way of life”, are going to take over our country, are enemies of all that we stand for, don’t share our “values” (whatever they may be!) and  should be sent back from whence they came. When I read of, or hear, the pure propaganda and hate spewing (and I choose that word carefully) from the mouth of the hateful but frighteningly devious Donald Trump or whenever I read headlines that decorate the front pages of the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, the Sun or the Telegraph I wonder where our world is heading and wonder what has happened to President Kennedy’s commentary that “What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of a peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, and the kind that enables men and nations to grow, and to hope, and build a better life for their children -- not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women, not merely peace in our time but peace in all time...I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary, rational end of rational men. I realize the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war, and frequently the words of the pursuers fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task...Our problems are manmade; therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable, and we believe they can do it again...And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's futures. And we are all mortal."

How the Russian media portray May and Johnson

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and Russia’s loss of international status in the years immediately following the demise of Communism Russia  reinvented itself to once again become a world player. The Russian Bear has risen from his wounds, the Russian people have again shown their capacity - just as they have done numerous times throughout history - to put up with any hardship and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that Mother Russia prevails. Given that, it would seem to me that the rest of the world would be well advised to understand what drives this proud and powerful people and extend the hand of friendship rather than do, as our unpleasant, unthinking, Foreign Secretary prefers, make unfounded and frankly  unacceptable accusations from the safety of his office in Whitehall. It would behove Boris Johnson and the rest who wish to fan the flames of discord to contemplate John Kennedy’s words that I quote above: "Our problems are manmade; therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings..... if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's futures. And we are all mortal."

I am also reminded of a comment made by Alan Smith Bishop of St Albans in his Christmas message a few short months ago: "When we feel insecure we build walls - they seems a good idea....But walls usually provide only a temporary solution - they don't always provide peace and security in the longer term. Rather than build walls we need to build highways to allow people and communities to come together". As Foreign Secretary perhaps Boris Johnson should ponder those few words of wisdom - they read to me like the perfect job description for the post of Foreign Secretary and I am further reminded of the famous incident involving US President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. Hatred had become entrenched between the North and South and Lincoln was criticized for speaking of benevolent treatment for the Southern rebels. A fellow politician reminded Lincoln that there was a war going on, that the Confederates were the enemy, and they should be destroyed without mercy he argued. Lincoln responded, “ Surely, I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.” Quite. 

Poisoning Snow White? - is there no end to Putin's
evil intentions - not in the eyes of Theresa May

We might be anxious about Putin’s Russia: it may well be that he is responsible for the Salisbury assassination attempt; there may well be a cause for concern in relation to the alleged Russian hacking of western internet accounts; we might well view Russia’s role in the middle east with grave concern or  have reservations about Russia’s relationship with its near neighbours and countries that were once part of the USSR; and there may be proved to be a Russian involvement with the Trump election or our own Brexit vote. But it seems to me that if we wish to change how Russia relates to the world then we need to recognise Russia’s history, culture and national psyche. As we have seen so often over the centuries the Russian Bear will rightly, not easily be tamed and certainly not by being beaten with a large stick. The resolve of the Russian people and their capacity to put up with hardships we in the west are largely unable to comprehend means that if we wish Russia to comply with our western viewpoint then the carrot is better than the stick, the hand of friendship better than sword. Baiting the Russian Bear is, in my view not an option – it is not sustainable nor is it the right thing to do.

And yet another photo of Mr & Mrs May attending church and
displaying their Christian virtues to all. Mmmm?.......think 
I'll reserve judgement on that one. There's more to being 
a good Christian, I think,  than going to church each week.

Johnson, Trump, May and all the others who are so anxious to speedily condemn Russia and incite mistrust across the world should think before opening their mouths. And in the case of Theresa May the Vicar's daughter, who professes to be a "good Christian" and whose PR Director ensures that each Monday morning we open our newspapers to see a photo of her and her husband going to church, should, just maybe, reflect upon some of the basic teachings of her professed religion; namely love thy neighbour, forgive and speak words of reconciliation and humanity rather than words of condemnation or mistrust. As the French philosopher & poet Paul Valéry said: "Our judgements judge us, and nothing reveals us, exposes our weaknesses, more ingeniously than the attitude of pronouncing upon our fellows".