Rarely do powerful people have friends. They have allies aka
accomplices (every government, no matter the conditions in which it was
established, eventually becomes a criminal conspiracy against the people it
claims to govern). They may have common interests and/or similar temperaments, which
make it easier for them to work together; but these don’t make them friends.
Putin and Trump are so different, in temperament and in
interests, that Putin must work hard to make their alliance work. He works hard
because unlike the feckless Trump, Putin’s a politician, and knows it’s to his advantage to be Trump’s ally. Trump’s not a
politician. He’s a con man who bluffed his way to power.
It’s pointless to ask, as my online correspondents insist on
asking, which of them is worse. Trump is a figurehead who’s surrounded himself
with predators far more dangerous than he is, while Putin apparently sees
himself as a statesman doing what’s necessary to fend off Russia’s predators.
Trump embodies American individualism at its worst. He thinks only
of himself, enriching himself at the expense of others. Putin, like most
Russian rulers, seems to have persuaded himself he’s doing what’s best for Russia. Even
Stalin seems to have done that.
Americans can't understand that Russians aren’t as self-centered as Americans are taught to be. Russians
must believe they’re doing what’s best for their country, their class,
or whichever group they identify with. If and when they realize they’re deluding themselves,
Russians are either overwhelmed by guilt, as my grandfather was, or they
embrace their evil, as Alec did. Americans do evil things, but they refuse to
admit they’re evil; so they remain innocent, at least in their own eyes.
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