I always find it telling how authors have to walk on eggshells to even suggest something against the popular narrative, even when it’s become so obvious that anyone who bothers to look into it can see the reality. The way this article starts with setting the scene as sort of relaxed, and how the title reads like “We’re obviously super great and everything, but is it possible that maybe just this once we’re wrong?”
It’s the same with the Ukraine conflict. It wasn’t until the catastrophic failure of a counterattack that people even began suggesting that it might have been a disaster, or that Ukraine is flawed - at least in more public media - and even then, the earlier stuff starts off so… “Well obviously the Ukrainians are in the right and totally could win, but maybe this was a bad idea”.
I don’t know, I just find it pretty telling in our freedom-loving society, which values Free Press and Free Speech, that every mainstream journalist acts like they’ll get executed if they report something that displeases their masters. I mean, getting fired and blacklisted from a major media outlet would probably serve the same purpose anyway, so…
It’s kind of funny how we’ve now reached a point where the effectiveness of US propaganda is actually starting to become a serious problem for US. Mainstream political discourse has a very narrow Overton window, and anybody who dares voice views that don’t fall within the allowed spectrum of opinion is marginalized and silenced. This created a powerful echo chamber where everybody just mindlessly repeats the narrative knowing that saying anything different would be career ending. Naturally, this leads to people drinking their own koolaid because they’re never exposed to any contrary views. This kind of environment makes it impossible to pass any rational policy.
It’s even wilder when you consider that the gap between the “left” and “right” in the US is closing despite partisanship being fiercer than ever. Both sides are virtually identical at this point, probably more so than any other point in history. Democrats may spout lip service to progressive causes, but don’t lift a finger and consistently aid Republican causes. Both parties constantly claim election tampering and the democracy being corrupt, they just disagree on who’s responsible. Both support war and corporate power. I’m sure historically the “progressive” party has always been a weak, lying power, but now it feels so bald-faced that I’m amazed anyone can still delude themselves.
The question is, is the US finally going to cross the line and just admit to what they are in some fascist coup, or will the “progressives” accomplish some meager win for human rights at the end and draw millions back into the illusion? I can’t tell if it’s always been like this and I’m just seeing it for the first time, or if it really is becoming more and more obvious, more unwieldy, closer to collapse.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure this one out. The West has been cutting costs in its education system for years, while China has continuously invested billions. Seems pretty obvious who’ll come out on top. Cutting China from the West will only lead to Western technology becoming obsolete. I wonder how long until the West is forced to start copying and reverse engineering China’s electronics. It’ll also be interesting to see how these racist societies will rationalize this.
